The U.S. Department of Transportation, under Secretary Sean P. Duffy, has disclosed that the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) issued 17,000 non-domiciled Commercial Driver’s Licenses (CDLs) in contravention of federal regulations. This finding emerged from an audit conducted by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), which uncovered systemic flaws in California's licensing process that permitted the issuance of these licenses to foreign drivers lacking the requisite qualifications.

Notices have been dispatched to the affected CDL holders, indicating that their licenses will expire in 60 days due to non-compliance with federal standards. The FMCSA has mandated that California undertake a thorough audit of its non-domiciled CDL program to ensure the revocation of improperly issued licenses and the implementation of corrective measures to avert future infractions.

The FMCSA's audit indicated that over 25% of the sampled non-domiciled CDL records from California failed to comply with federal regulations, including cases where licenses were granted beyond the validity of a foreign driver's work permit.

In addition to revoking these licenses, the Department of Transportation has withheld over $40 million in federal funds from California due to the state's non-compliance with English Language Proficiency (ELP) standards for commercial drivers. This decision follows a prior warning issued in August, which stated that funding would be withheld if California did not enforce ELP requirements. The California Highway Patrol had previously expressed its intention not to adhere to these federal regulations.

In light of these ongoing challenges, Secretary Duffy has introduced new guidelines aimed at strengthening the enforcement of English language requirements for commercial motor vehicle drivers, with non-compliant drivers facing the possibility of removal from service.