The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) has announced that beginning June 25, 2025, commercial vehicle operators in the U.S. who fail to comply with federal English language proficiency (ELP) requirements will be placed out-of-service.

This significant announcement comes days after President Trump signed an Executive Order reversing a 2016 directive that prevented authorities from putting truck drivers out-of-service solely based on English proficiency violations.

The CVSA Board of Directors acted swiftly, voting to include an “English Proficiency (U.S. Only)” category in the North American Standard Out-of-Service Criteria. Under this new rule, drivers who cannot adequately read or speak English to communicate with safety officials, respond to official questions, or understand instructions will be declared out-of-service immediately.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) will issue detailed guidelines soon to ensure consistent enforcement of these standards nationwide.

In addition, CVSA plans to petition the FMCSA to update current regulations (49 CFR 391.11(b)(2)) to explicitly define lack of English proficiency as grounds for placing a driver out-of-service. CVSA will also request harmonization of commercial driver’s license (CDL) language requirements with existing general qualifications rules.

The applicable federal regulation states clearly that drivers must be able to:

• Converse effectively with the public.

• Understand traffic signs and signals in English.

• Respond clearly to official inquiries.

• Maintain accurate records and reports in English.

The CVSA utilized emergency provisions to expedite these regulatory updates within the 60-day timeline set by the Trump Administration.