Indiana’s English proficiency requirement for CDLs hasn’t changed testing
INDIANAPOLIS (WRTV) — A new state law requiring truck drivers to speak and understand English will not change how Indiana tests for licenses.
House Enrolled Act 1200 became law in March. It adds several rules to crack down on semitruck drivers who are in the country illegally. They include a requirement that anyone getting a commercial driver’s license (CDL) must show they are proficient in English.
However, drivers do not need to take a new English proficiency test.
The Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles told Indiana’s I-Team that it already gives CDL and permit tests in English and will not add more testing.
This week, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced the closure of 110 truck-driving schools because thousands of drivers failed English proficiency tests.
State Rep. Jim Pressel, R-La Porte, said the law is more than performative. He said it prevents Indiana from offering the CDL skills test in any language other than English, a practice allowed in some other states.
“I think that sets that higher standard,” Pressel said.
The legislation passed shortly after two crashes in Indiana involving foreign-born semitruck drivers. One crash killed Terry Shultz in Hendricks County. Another crash in Jay County killed four Amish construction workers.
Supporters of the new law say the proficiency requirement ensures drivers understand traffic signs and can talk to police. It also brings Indiana in line with federal law.
Instructors at C1 Truck Driver Training in Indianapolis help more than 500 drivers get a CDL every year. They make sure drivers read road signs during training.
“Our instructors don’t say, ‘Take the next left, take the second left,’” C1 President Matt Carroll said. “We say, ‘Hey, we need you to read the signs; we need you to hang a right at Emerson Avenue.’”
The state expects truck-driving schools to check that drivers understand English.
“If you can’t speak English going through a school, you should not be able to pass a CDL test,” Carroll said.
While the English proficiency requirement has not changed testing, Carroll said it sends a signal to the industry as state and federal officials increase enforcement.
“You and your family, me and my family, we want them to be as safe as possible,” Carroll said.
Still, the crashes the law aims to prevent are rare. Federal data shows that non-domiciled CDL holders accounted for only 17 of the 3,728 fatal large truck and bus crashes in 2025.
