North Dakota (ND) CDL manual 2026
Reading the manual is not the same as passing the test on it. Practice it instead: every chapter below has real test questions you can answer right here, plus what North Dakota does its own way.
Practice the manual, chapter by chapter
State manuals are built on the same national model, chapter for chapter. One thing to know from each chapter, then real questions from it to answer — tap an option to check yourself.
- 1
Introduction
Everyone
If your privilege to operate your personal vehicle is revoked, cancelled, or suspended due to alcohol, controlled substance or felony violations, you will lose your CDL for one year.
This chapter has 26 more questions. Practice them in the app and see your pass chance.How quickly must you tell your employer that your license has been suspended?
A suspension, revocation, cancellation, or disqualification is reported within two business days, far faster than the 30 days allowed for a conviction.
Manual section 1.4
How long do you lose your CDL for three or more serious traffic violations in three years?
The third serious violation inside a three-year window takes the disqualification from 60 days to at least 120.
Manual section 1.3.3
- 2
Driving Safely
Everyone
Sometimes walkers, joggers, and bicyclists wear portable stereos with headsets, so they cannot hear you either.
This chapter has 290 more questions. Practice them in the app and see your pass chance.Why should you never change gears while your vehicle is moving across railroad tracks?
A gear change that fails on the crossing can leave the vehicle without power on the tracks, so drivers should cross in a gear that will carry them completely across without shifting.
Manual section 2.15
What must be confirmed before you open the engine compartment in Step 2?
You are about to work at the front of the vehicle. It has to be held in place before you get there.
Manual section 2.1.5
- 3
Transporting Cargo Safely
Everyone
Inspect cargo securement within the first 50 miles, then every 150 miles or every 3 hours.
This chapter has 26 more questions. Practice them in the app and see your pass chance.A dispatcher offers you a load that requires hazardous materials placards on the trailer, but you do not have a hazmat endorsement. What may you do?
A vehicle that must display hazardous materials placards may only be driven by someone whose CDL carries the hazardous materials endorsement.
Manual section 3.5
Which cargo responsibility remains yours even when someone else loads the vehicle?
Inspecting the cargo, spotting overloads and bad balance, and knowing it is secured and not blocking your view or your emergency equipment all stay with the driver.
Manual section 3
- 4
Transporting Passengers
P endorsement (bus)
While driving, scan the interior of your bus as well as the road ahead, to the sides, and to the rear.
This chapter has 98 more questions. Practice them in the app and see your pass chance.On buses designed to allow standing, how is the standee line marked?
A two-inch line on the floor, or some other equally clear means, shows riders how far forward they may stand.
Manual section 4.2.3
A standee line is painted on the floor of buses that allow standing riders. What does this line mark?
The standee line is a line on the floor near the driver, and no rider may stand forward of it while the bus is in motion. It keeps standing passengers out of the driver's view and working space.
Manual section 4.3
- 5
Air Brakes
Any vehicle with air brakes
The application pressure gauge shows how much air pressure is being applied to the brakes.
This chapter has 147 more questions. Practice them in the app and see your pass chance.How long a crack in a brake drum or disc is acceptable during inspection?
The limit is set against the friction area itself: nothing longer than half its width. A crack past that point can let the drum come apart under braking heat.
Manual section 5.3.2
How may the parking brakes be operated on an older air-braked vehicle?
Newer vehicles use the yellow diamond-shaped push-pull knob, but on older equipment the same job may be done by a lever.
Manual section 5.1.15
- 6
Combination Vehicles
Class A
On older vehicles there may be a lever rather than a knob; the "normal" position is used for pulling a trailer and the "emergency" position shuts the air off and applies the trailer emergency brakes.
This chapter has 118 more questions. Practice them in the app and see your pass chance.The trailer wheels lock and the trailer begins to swing around. What is this kind of jackknife called?
Locked trailer wheels swinging the trailer around is the trailer jackknife. A tractor jackknife is the different case where the tractor's own drive wheels lose grip.
Manual section 6.1.5
Your trailer is hung up on a railroad crossing and will not move. What is the first thing you do?
Nothing on the vehicle is worth being in it when a train arrives. You get clear of the tracks first, then look for the emergency notification information posted at the crossing.
Manual section 6.1.4
- 7
Doubles and Triples
T endorsement
Longer combination vehicles require greater following distance at all times.
This chapter has 98 more questions. Practice them in the app and see your pass chance.How does the walkaround inspection of a set of doubles differ from inspecting a tractor with one trailer?
Doubles add a second trailer and a converter dolly, multiplying the tires, lamps, and connection points the driver must examine.
Manual section 7.3
What must you verify about the light cords when inspecting a set of doubles or triples?
A cord that has worked loose kills the lights on everything behind it, leaving the rear of a very long rig invisible at night.
Manual section 7.3.1
- 8
Tank Vehicles
N endorsement
Check manhole covers and vents; make sure the covers have gaskets and they close correctly, and keep the vents clear so they work correctly.
This chapter has 62 more questions. Practice them in the app and see your pass chance.At a rest stop you notice product dripping from underneath your cargo tank. What should you do?
A leaking tank must not be driven; the vehicle stays put until the leak is properly addressed, because moving it spreads the product and the danger.
Manual section 8.1
Besides leaks, what condition of the tank's body or shell does the inspection cover?
Dents in the shell are checked alongside leaks, because damage to the pressure boundary can be the beginning of a failure even where nothing is weeping yet.
Manual section 8.1.1
- 9
Hazardous Materials
H endorsement
Packaging and loading rules serve the containment purpose by keeping the product in its container during transport.
This chapter has 234 more questions. Practice them in the app and see your pass chance.What is required of the surface a placard is mounted on?
A placard that blends into the panel behind it may not register at a distance, so the background has to contrast with it.
Manual section 9.3.10
Which division number covers explosives with a mass explosion hazard?
Division 1.1 is the mass explosion hazard, with dynamite as the example. The higher division numbers describe progressively less severe explosive hazards.
Manual section 9.3.1
- 10
School Buses
S endorsement
The driver must evacuate the bus when the bus is stalled on or adjacent to a railroad-highway crossing.
This chapter has 98 more questions. Practice them in the app and see your pass chance.Where are the outside convex mirrors mounted relative to the flat mirrors?
The convex mirrors sit below the flat mirrors on each side, giving a wide-angle view along the sides of the bus.
Manual section 10.1.4
What should be switched on while loading students in the dark?
The dome light lets students see the steps and the aisle, and lets you see them as they come aboard.
Manual section 10.2.2
- 11
Pre-Trip Vehicle Inspection
Everyone (skills test)
When entering or exiting a bus, safely enter and exit by facing forward and maintaining a firm grasp on the handrail.
This chapter has 200 more questions. Practice them in the app and see your pass chance.With the engine in what state are the critical fluid levels inspected?
The fluids are checked with the engine off, which is also why the caution about the radiator cap applies.
Manual section 11.5.1
How many parts make up the air brake check, and what happens if you get one wrong?
The air brake check has four parts, and failing to explain and demonstrate all four correctly is an automatic failure of the Vehicle Inspection test.
Manual section 11.1.2
What’s different in North Dakota
Most of every state manual is the same federal material. These are the parts that are not.
- Low air warning in the air brakes chapter (written test): before pressure drops below 60 psi.
- A warning signal you can see must come on before the air pressure in the tanks falls below 60 psi (or one-half the compressor governor cut-out pressure on older vehicles).
- If you are less than 18 years of age you cannot be issued a Class A, B, or C license, except a Class A, B, or C license may be issued to a person at least 16 years of age for custom harvesting purposes only.
The official North Dakota CDL manual
Published free by North Dakota Department of Transportation
On their site, search for “CDL manual” to download the latest edition.