{"id":58860,"date":"2025-11-18T18:03:12","date_gmt":"2025-11-18T18:03:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/58860\/"},"modified":"2025-11-18T18:03:12","modified_gmt":"2025-11-18T18:03:12","slug":"warning-issued-to-california-drivers-as-licenses-could-be-revoked","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/58860\/","title":{"rendered":"Warning issued to California drivers as licenses could be revoked\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

Thousands of California<\/a>\u00a0driver\u2019s licenses face\u00a0\u201cdecertification\u201d unless\u00a0the state\u00a0meets certain federal requirements, the Department of Transportation (DOT)\u00a0has warned.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Why\u00a0It Matters\u00a0<\/p>\n

It\u00a0follows\u00a0California\u2019s decision to\u00a0revoke approximately 17,000\u00a0commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs)<\/a>\u00a0issued\u00a0to immigrants, which\u00a0generated nationwide attention due to the significant impacts on public safety, the trucking industry and communities relying on these drivers.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Logistics\u00a0and transportation firm Fremont Contract Carriers reports that more than 130,000 truck drivers\u00a0operate\u00a0in California. Only Texas has a larger driver population.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A\u00a0possible decertification\u00a0of the state\u2019s CDL program could therefore have a significant knock-on effect on the wider\u00a0national economy.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"What To Know\u00a0<\/p>\n

California\u2019s Governor\u00a0and the director of its Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) have received a\u00a0conditional determination notice\u00a0in\u00a0correspondence\u00a0seen by\u00a0Newsweek.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Gavin Newsom<\/a> and Steve Gordon were warned\u00a0that \u201cup to four percent of certain Federal-aid Highway funds\u201d could be withheld, as well as \u201cpossible decertification of California\u2019s CDL program\u201d if they did not meet criteria set out by the DOT\u2019s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA).\u00a0<\/p>\n

The FMCSA has threatened to withhold federal funds and revoke thousands of CDLs if\u00a0California\u00a0does not\u00a0\u201cprovide evidence of its corrective action plan.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Newsweek\u00a0contacted the DOT via email and the Governor of California\u2019s office via phone for further comment.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

California\u2019s\u00a0DMV notified around 17,000 commercial drivers earlier in November that their CDLs would be canceled within 60 days.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It follows a high-profile accident<\/a> and increased scrutiny from President Donald Trump<\/a>\u2019s administration concerning compliance with federal and state licensing regulations for noncitizen drivers.<\/p>\n

The action came after a federal audit led by U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy\u00a0identified\u00a0discrepancies in California’s issuance practices, specifically that CDL\u00a0expiration\u00a0dates sometimes extended beyond drivers\u2019 lawful presence in the United States, contrary to state law.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Under new federal requirements as of September 2025, eligibility for commercial driver\u2019s licenses is now confined to holders of H-2A, H-2B, and E-2 visas\u2014narrowing qualifying visa categories to temporary agricultural, temporary\u00a0nonagricultural and certain investment visas only.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

These changes are not retroactive but will dramatically reduce the eligible pool for new noncitizen CDL applicants from about 200,000 to 10,000 in California.\u00a0<\/p>\n

State officials and Newsom\u2019s office have argued that the affected drivers originally held valid federal work authorizations and that the move aligns\u00a0expiration\u00a0dates with state legal requirements.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

However, following federal pressure and an audit, enforcement escalated, and a notification letter was sent on November 6, 2025.\u00a0<\/p>\n

What People Are Saying\u00a0<\/p>\n

Writing to Newsom and Gordon,\u00a0FMCSA Administrator Derek D. Barrs\u00a0said: \u201cDMV must provide FMCSA evidence of its corrective action plan implementation.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cDMV\u2019s failure to implement, or undue delay in implementing, the required corrective actions will result in FMCSA issuing a Final Determination of Substantial Noncompliance and withholding up to four percent of certain Federal-aid Highway funds as well as\u00a0possible decertification\u00a0of California\u2019s CDL program.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy\u00a0said: \u201cAfter weeks of claiming they did nothing wrong, Gavin Newsom and California have been caught red-handed. Now that\u00a0we\u2019ve\u00a0exposed their lies, 17,000 illegally issued trucking licenses are being revoked.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Governor Gavin Newsom\u2019s spokesperson, Brandon Richards,\u00a0said: \u201cOnce again, the Sean \u2018Road Rules\u2019 Duffy fails to share the truth \u2014 spreading easily disproven falsehoods in a sad and desperate attempt to please his dear leader.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Dave Laut, owner of FBT Incorporated, which stands to lose 50 drivers, told KGET.com: \u201cWe are shocked because we just got sudden calls and letters from many drivers saying, ‘Oh, we only have 60 days left.’ … One driver has been on the road for 15 years, driving<\/a> safely with a good record, and how can we say this driver is no good,\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0unsafe.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

What Happens Next\u00a0<\/p>\n

California is the only state to complete a commercial driver\u2019s license audit. Other states\u2019 reviews, delayed by the 43-day government shutdown, are expected to be released soon.\u00a0<\/p>\n

If California\u00a0fails to\u00a0align fully with federal mandates, the\u00a0DOT\u00a0has\u00a0stated\u00a0it may withhold as much as $160 million in federal highway funds, with a\u00a0prior $40 million\u00a0having already\u00a0been\u00a0withheld over English language examination requirements for drivers.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Thousands of California\u00a0driver\u2019s licenses face\u00a0\u201cdecertification\u201d unless\u00a0the state\u00a0meets certain federal requirements, the Department of Transportation (DOT)\u00a0has warned.\u00a0\u00a0 Why\u00a0It Matters\u00a0…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":58861,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[7,9,8,8151,3159,457,14,7199,1519],"class_list":["post-58860","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-california","tag-california","tag-california-headlines","tag-california-news","tag-department-of-transportation","tag-driving","tag-gavin-newsom","tag-immigration","tag-truck-driver","tag-trump"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58860","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=58860"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58860\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/58861"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58860"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=58860"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=58860"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}