On Monday, the White House issued a sweeping new Executive Order (EO) intended to strengthen federal English-language requirements for truck drivers and to crack down on fraudulent commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs).
On April 28, 2025, President Trump made headlines when he signed an Executive Order targeting several trucking industry issues, including English-language proficiency for CDL drivers.
From the EO:
“Proficiency in English, which I designated as our official national language in Executive Order 14224 of March 1, 2025 (Designating English as the Official Language of the United States), should be a non-negotiable safety requirement for professional drivers. They should be able to read and understand traffic signs, communicate with traffic safety, border patrol, agricultural checkpoints, and cargo weight-limit station officers. Drivers need to provide feedback to their employers and customers and receive related directions in English. This is common sense.
That is why Federal law requires that, to operate a commercial vehicle, a driver must “read and speak the English language sufficiently to converse with the general public, to understand highway traffic signs and signals in the English language, to respond to official inquiries, and to make entries on reports and records.” Yet this requirement has not been enforced in years, and America’s roadways have become less safe.
My Administration will enforce the law to protect the safety of American truckers, drivers, passengers, and others, including by upholding the safety enforcement regulations that ensure that anyone behind the wheel of a commercial vehicle is properly qualified and proficient in our national language, English.“
EO Calls For New Language Enforcement Guidance, CDL Fraud Prevention
Wondering exactly what policy changes are included in the EO? Take a look below for details on the policy actions ordered by the White House on Monday.
- Upholding English-language proficiency for commercial motor vehicle operators:
- (a) The Secretary of Transportation, acting through the Administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), shall, within 60 days of the date of this order, rescind the guidance document titled, “English Language Proficiency Testing and Enforcement Policy MC-ECE-2016-006,” issued on June 15, 2016, and issue new guidance to FMCSA and enforcement personnel outlining revised inspection procedures necessary to ensure compliance with the requirements of 49 C.F.R. 391.11(b)(2).
- (b) In carrying out subsection (a) of this section, the Secretary of Transportation, through the Administrator of the FMCSA, shall take all necessary and appropriate actions, consistent with applicable law, to ensure that the out-of-service criteria are revised such that a violation of the English language proficiency requirement results in the driver being placed out-of-service, including by working with the relevant entities responsible for establishing the out-of-service criteria.
- Strengthening Commercial Driver’s License Security for Safer Commercial Motor Vehicle Operations.
- The Secretary of Transportation, through the Administrator of the FMCSA, shall:
- (a) review non-domiciled commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs) issued by relevant State agencies to identify any unusual patterns or numbers or other irregularities with respect to non-domiciled CDL issuance; and
- (b) evaluate and take appropriate actions to improve the effectiveness of current protocols for verifying the authenticity and validity of both domestic and international commercial driving credentials.
- The Secretary of Transportation, through the Administrator of the FMCSA, shall:
- Supporting America’s Truck Drivers.
- Within 60 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of Transportation shall identify and begin carrying out additional administrative, regulatory, or enforcement actions to improve the working conditions of America’s truck drivers.
See below the memo that the EO seeks to rescind:
You can view the EO in full here.
