Commercial Driver's License Requirements
This domain tests the licensing foundation for school bus drivers: the correct CDL class, the passenger and school bus endorsements, medical self-certification, and the tests required before driving with students.
Class and endorsements
A school bus is usually a Class B vehicle because its gross vehicle weight rating is 26,001 pounds or more. A smaller school bus designed to carry 16 or more passengers, including the driver, may be a Class C vehicle. In either case, you need the passenger endorsement and the school bus endorsement. The school bus endorsement requires a knowledge test and a skills test in a school bus, covering loading and unloading, railroad crossings, student management, emergency exits, and the school bus pre-trip. Air brakes require the air brake knowledge test and an air brake-equipped vehicle for the skills test, or you receive a restriction.
Driver requirements
Federal rules require a minimum age of 21 for interstate CMV operation and 18 for intrastate operation, though employers may set a higher age. You must provide a medical examiner's certificate, self-certify your operating category, pass vision and knowledge tests, and hold a clean enough driving record. New Mexico issues the CDL through its motor vehicle department, but the CDL alone does not complete school bus hiring: districts also require state-approved school bus driver training, fingerprinting, and a background check.
Worked example
A 19-year-old applicant holds a Class B CDL with the passenger endorsement and wants to drive a school bus on an interstate route. The applicant is not eligible for interstate operation until age 21. Intrastate operation may be possible if state and employer rules allow it, but the school bus endorsement and all medical and background requirements still apply.
Traps
Assuming the passenger endorsement covers a school bus, forgetting the medical certificate or self-certification, taking the skills test without air brakes and then accepting an air brake-equipped route, and treating the CDL as the only school bus credential.