# Title 37 — Department of Transportation

## Article 37-13 — Commercial Driver Training School Requirements

## Chapter 37-13-04 — Commercial Driver Training Instructor Requirements

### § 37-13-04-01. Instructor - License required - Contents of application for license.

1. An applicant for a commercial driver training instructor license must:
a. Be a resident of the state of North Dakota, unless waived by the director for good cause.
b. Furnish the director information relating to all previous places of residence located
outside of the state of North Dakota.
c. Be at least twenty-one years of age.
d. Read, write, and speak the English language.
e. Have normal peripheral and color vision and visual acuity of at least 20/40 in each eye,
with or without corrective lenses.
f. Have been a licensed driver for three years for class of vehicle instruction, holding a valid
North Dakota driver's license unless waived by the director for good cause, free from
requirement to show proof of financial responsibility, and have a satisfactory driving
record free from any conviction that would constitute the basis for suspension or
revocation of the instructor license.
g. Authorize the director to investigate the applicant's background and review the
applicant's driving record.
h. Submit to a nationwide fingerprint-based criminal history record check with the federal
bureau of investigation at no expense to the department of transportation.
(1) If the applicant has been convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude, the
applicant is ineligible to be an instructor.
(2) If the applicant has been convicted of a misdemeanor or felony, the applicant is
ineligible to be an instructor unless:
(a) The director determines the crime does not directly relate to the position of
instructor; or
(b) The applicant has shown competent evidence of sufficient rehabilitation and
present fitness to perform the duties of an instructor.
i. Pass a written and road test for each class of license for which driver training is to be
offered. The tests must be administered by the North Dakota department of
transportation driver's license division. The director may accept commercial driver's
license test results from another state if the applicant currently holds a valid commercial
driver's license. The director may periodically require a licensed instructor to submit to a
written examination and road test consisting of all or any part of the test specified in this
section. The test must include:
(1) The operation of a motor vehicle.
(2) Traffic laws.

(3) Road signs, laws and regulations, and other material pertaining to and affecting the
driver, traffic, and motor vehicle.
j. Be in good physical and mental health, and having no illness or condition that would
render the applicant unable to safely perform the duties as an instructor. The applicant
shall submit to a physical examination by a licensed physician and a certificate must
accompany the application. For commercial driver's license instruction, the instructor
shall submit a copy of the federal department of transportation medical card every two
years. The director may periodically require a licensed instructor to submit to a physical
examination by a licensed physician and a certificate of the examination must be
submitted to the director.
k. Instructor preparation:
(1) Hold a valid North Dakota driver education certificate issued by the department of
public instruction; or
(2) Have successfully completed an approved preparation course or courses for
commercial driver education instructors. Instructor preparation courses must be
submitted to and approved by the director. Preparation courses conducted by a
licensed commercial driver training school must consist of both classroom training
and practical driving situations. At a minimum, instructor development training for
class D must consist of thirty hours of classroom and thirty hours of
behind-the-wheel practical training. At a minimum, instructor development training
for class A, B, or C must consist of forty hours of classroom and eighty hours of
behind-the-wheel practical training. The behind-the-wheel practical training must
consist of both actual driving and riding along and observing a licensed instructor
during a student training session. Driver education instructor development courses
offered through a university system may also be considered for approval.
I. Instructor requirements may be waived by the director for good cause when pertaining to
a commercial driving school licensed to offer the internet course only.
2. When employment of an instructor is terminated, the school administrator shall return the
terminated instructor's commercial instruction license to the director within ten days of the
termination date.
History: Effective April 1, 2016.
General Authority: NDCC 28-32-02
Law Implemented: NDCC 39-25-04, 39-25-08
