The purge? Ohio moves to downgrade non-domiciled CDLs

Another state is jumping into the fray to put the brakes on non-domiciled CDLs, with roughly 5,000 commercial drivers in Ohio facing the potential of having their licenses downgraded.

On Friday, May 29, the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles announced it would be contacting approximately 5,000 non-domiciled CDL holders to verify the status of their credentials under updated rules from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

According to the Bureau, non-domiciled license holders in the state will receive one of two notices, depending on the type of documentation they initially used to obtain their CDL.

For drivers whose documentation meets current FMCSA standards, their licenses will remain valid until their expiration date. For those who do not meet current standards, the process is a bit more complicated.

As for CDL holders whose original documents do not meet current FMCSA guidelines, they will receive a notice of downgrade, and their CDLs will be downgraded to a Class D license 30 days after receiving the notice.

Drivers who receive a downgrade notice can request a hearing with the BMV to dispute the downgrade, and can provide additional documentation to prove their eligibility. According to the Bureau, those documents include:

• An unexpired Employment Authorization Document issued by USCIS, valid on the most recent CDL/CLP issuance date
• An unexpired foreign passport with an unexpired USCIS I‑94 form, both of which must be valid on your most recent CDL/CLP issuance date

Officials said the Ohio BMV has not issued or renewed any non-domiciled CDLs since FMCSA put new standards in place in 2025, and that it does not intend to resume issuing non-domiciled CDLs in the future. Additionally, the BMV will not renew revalidated non-domiciled CDLs after they expire.

All notices will be sent by mail to the address listed on file with the Ohio BMV. The Bureau emphasized that the reverification process does not apply to full CDL holders or CDL holders with legally established permanent residence. LL