Endorsement Eligibility, TSA Security Threat Assessment, and Disqualifications
Getting the H endorsement
To add the hazardous materials endorsement a driver must hold a valid CDL (or be testing for one), meet the age requirement - 21 for interstate driving, 18 for intrastate-only in Virginia - pass the hazmat knowledge test, and complete a TSA Security Threat Assessment (STA). The endorsement is not issued until TSA clears the driver. The application involves fingerprinting at an enrollment center, identity and immigration-status verification, and a fee. A lawful permanent resident can qualify; a nonresident without work authorization cannot. The STA is valid for five years and must be renewed, with a new application and fingerprints, before it expires. The tank endorsement (N) is separate from the hazmat endorsement (H); a driver hauling a loaded cargo tank of hazmat needs both, shown as X on some credentials and as N plus H on a Virginia license.
What disqualifies a driver
TSA looks back seven years for convictions (or findings of not guilty by reason of insanity) of a specific list of felonies: murder, kidnapping or hostage taking, rape or sexual assault, assault with intent to commit a felony, extortion, fraud, arson, bribery, smuggling, immigration violations, unlawful possession or distribution of a firearm or explosive, and distribution or intent to distribute a controlled substance, among others. Certain offenses - terrorism, espionage, treason, sedition, and conspiracy or attempt to commit them - are permanent disqualifiers regardless of when they occurred. A driver whose STA is denied or revoked must surrender the endorsement and stop operating. Standard CDL disqualifications (major traffic offenses, out-of-service violations, alcohol) still apply on top of the STA rules.
Traps
Test writers insert "DUI" or "speeding" into the disqualifying list - those are not STA disqualifiers, though they can suspend a CDL separately. Another trap is the five-year validity being stated as two or ten years.
Worked example
A driver's STA was approved in March of a given year. It expires five years later; renewal must be started early enough that the endorsement does not lapse.