Washington D.C. – The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is putting off the compliance date of its Entry-Level Driver Training (ELDT) rule for two years.

Reports the Agency intended to delay, for up to two years, the compliance date of the entire ELDT surfaced late last year.

The Agency confirmed on Wednesday it is officially delaying the date to comply with the ELDT until February 7, 2022, in order to “provide FMCSA additional time to complete development of the Training Provider Registry (TPR).”

In a Federal Register notice, the Agency now says,

The TPR will allow training providers to self-certify that they meet the training requirements and will provide the electronic interface that will receive and store entry-level driver training (ELDT) certification information from training providers and transmit that information to the State Driver Licensing Agencies (SDLAs).

The extension also provides SDLAs with time to modify their information technology (IT) systems and procedures, as necessary, to accommodate their receipt of driver-specific ELDT data from the TPR.

The ELDT was set to go into effect February 7, 2020.

In July of 2019, the Agency proposed delaying two provisions of the ELDT for two years, but clearly stated its intent to begin enforcing the rest of the provisions beginning February 7, 2020, as planned.

However, the Agency has now broadened its delay to include the entire rule.

In explaining its decision to delay the entire ELDT rule, the Agency says,

FMCSA is delaying the entire ELDT final rule, as opposed to a partial delay as proposed, due to delays in implementation of the TPR that were not foreseen when the proposed rule was published.

The ELDT rule requires schools to teach 19 behind-the-wheel skills courses and 31 specific theory courses.

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Further, it requires trainees to score an 80 percent on a theory assessment and demonstrate proficiency in the 19 skills tests in order to be certified to take a state-issued CDL skills test.

Driver applicants must also obtain ELDT from a training provider listed on the TPR.

The TPR will be accessible to driver applicants who need to identify a registered training provider that meets their needs.

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