DOT Shuts Down 110 Truck Schools in CDL Fraud Crackdown

The U.S. Department of Transportation has launched an unprecedented enforcement surge targeting systemic fraud in commercial driver licensing (CDL), removing 110 driving schools from federal registry and pursuing removal of 160 additional institutions. The crackdown identifies critical failures in driver training and testing oversight, with Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy citing specific cases where inadequately trained drivers certified by fraudulent schools were subsequently involved in fatal crashes. Over 28,000 commercial drivers have been removed from service since June 2025 due to English-language proficiency violations, signaling widespread corruption among third-party CDL testers and state oversight mechanisms.

This enforcement action extends far beyond individual driver compliance, targeting the ecosystem that enables fraud, including shell companies, identity document schemes, labor trafficking, and potential connections to organized crime and cartel activity. The Department of Homeland Security Investigations has received over 1,000 leads involving CDL-related businesses suspected of unsafe practices, and federal prosecutors are establishing a dedicated task force across the Midwest's major freight corridors. The scale of the intervention reflects recognition that fraudulent CDL issuance creates direct safety risks on highways and threatens supply chain reliability through driver shortages and operational disruptions. For supply chain and logistics professionals, this crackdown signals tightening regulatory scrutiny on driver qualifications and carrier compliance responsibilities.

Organizations should expect increased verification requirements for driver credentials, potential capacity constraints as marginal operators face scrutiny, and heightened liability exposure for companies employing drivers from compromised training programs. The multi-agency coordination, involving DOT, FMCSA, FBI, DEA, HSI, ICE, and ATF, indicates that compliance violations may trigger criminal investigations, not merely administrative sanctions.