HME Application, TSA Security Threat Assessment, and Disqualification Rules
What this domain covers
How the H endorsement is issued, what TSA looks for, and what can take it away.
Getting and keeping the H endorsement
To add H you must hold a CDL, be at least 21, pass the state hazardous materials knowledge test, and pass a TSA Security Threat Assessment (STA). The STA requires fingerprints, a fee, proof of U.S. citizenship or lawful permanent residence, and identity documents. The endorsement is typically valid for five years and renewal means a new assessment and new fingerprints. Adding the N (tank vehicle) endorsement gives you the X combination - H plus N - needed to drive a placarded tank vehicle.
TSA disqualifiers (49 CFR 1572)
- Permanent disqualifiers: terrorism, espionage, treason, murder, arson, kidnapping, rape, smuggling, explosives or firearms offenses, and distribution of controlled substances.
- Interim disqualifiers: other felonies and certain fraud, theft, and weapons offenses bar you for a set period after release from incarceration, commonly five years.
- A pending indictment for a disqualifying offense can also block issuance.
CDL-side disqualifications (49 CFR 383)
Major offenses - DUI, leaving the scene, a felony involving a motor vehicle, refusing a drug or alcohol test - disqualify a CDL holder for a year or more, and the H endorsement goes with the CDL. Serious traffic violations and railroad-crossing violations build toward suspension.
Worked example
An applicant has a 2016 felony fraud conviction, released in 2019, otherwise clean, applying in 2026. Fraud is an interim disqualifier with a five-year lookback from release; 2026 is more than five years past 2019, so it should no longer bar the assessment - but TSA decides on the record, and a pending charge would change the answer.
Traps
Assuming the state issues the HME without TSA clearance; thinking a personal-vehicle DUI is irrelevant; letting the STA lapse because the CDL has not expired; and confusing N with H.