The government isn’t providing ‘a six month free CDL course’

Facebook posts proclaiming the existence of a free, government-provided commercial driver’s license course drew attention on social media this week.

Each post shared an image with words, “CDL Official Announcement” in all capital letters beside the U.S. State Department’s seal. Beneath that, the image included the following message: 

“Starting from June 2024, the United States will provide a six-month free CDL course,” the image said, using the abbreviation for commercial driver’s license. “If you need a CDL driver’s license, you can apply for it for free with your citizenship, and foreigners can also apply for it for free with their residence permit.” 

Three posts from June 23 and June 24 were collectively shared more than 11,000 times. 

Many Facebook users in the comments asked for a link to apply; others users asked about the legitimacy of the posts’ claims. 

“Do you think this is true?” one wrote. 

Another questioned the timeline: “Y’all sure this legit? Getting a cdl doesn’t take anywhere near six months.” 

The posts were flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram.)

We searched Google and news reports and found nothing to support the claim that the U.S. government is providing commercial driver’s license courses at no cost — which might explain why none of the posts included a link or application information.

(Screenshot from Facebook.)

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration considers the posts promoting free, government-provided commercial driver’s license courses false, agency spokesperson Cicely Waters said. 

“Our agency does not offer grant funding directly to individuals nor do we enroll applicants into CDL training programs,” Waters said. “As such, our agency would not sponsor advertisements like” the images shared on Facebook. 

Also, a State Department spokesperson told PolitiFact the department is not involved with a purported commercial driver’s license course.

People must have a commercial driver’s license if they operate in-state, between-state or foreign commerce and drive a commercial motor vehicle, according to the U.S. Transportation Department’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s website. 

The website said people must meet knowledge, skill, medical and residency requirements to obtain a commercial driver’s license. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration encouraged people who want to get a commercial driver’s license to find a copy of their state’s commercial driver’s license manual.

The federal agency developed the standards for state testing and issuing commercial driver’s licenses, but it does not issue commercial driver’s licenses. 

“State governments are responsible for issuing CDLs,” the website said. 

Waters noted that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has a commercial driver’s license program implementation grant, which provides money to state agencies that provide commercial driver’s licenses and other entities that improve the National Commercial Driver’s License Program.

Some states, including Arizona and Oregon, have used money from the American Rescue Plan Act, a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package President Joe Biden signed into law in 2021, to help people afford commercial driver’s license training, news reports said.

Our ruling

Facebook posts claimed that the federal government will “provide a six-month free CDL course,” starting in June 2024. The posts included the State Department seal. 

Spokespeople for the State Department and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration said their agencies were not offering free commercial driver’s license courses.

We rate these claims False.