For when a FEDERAL CDL???

I live in Illinois and have an Indiana CDL... I feel your pain... Illinois is ridiculous that they won't let you transfer out of state CDL without doing everything all over again from A to Z...

 

In the US we have what are known as "states rights", where our Federal government can not take certain "rights" away from individual states, driver licensing is one. Most states accept a transfer from one to another regarding your cdl, but Illinois does not, they make you start all over again. The only thing that does not transfer from state to state without a new test is haz-mat and sometimes school bus endorsement, again except IL who does not recognize any other cdl for transfer. As for needing a home, the way our state and Federal government works, you need to claim residency somewhere, it can be a rented property or mail box service, but for tax and identification purposes you need to be a resident of a specific state, not just a resident of the US. We will never have a Federal cdl, just like there is no Federal firearm permit, it boils down to the right of each state to regulate it's own citizens within the guidelines set by our Federal constitution.

 

If you have homes in more than one state you pick one to be your primary residence, this is the one you claim as you base for filing your state and Federal income taxes. It is supposed to be the one you spend more than 6 moths out of the year at, but you know as OTR drivers many don't spend that much time at home period. It can be to you advantage to claim residency in a state that does not have a state income tax, like Tennessee for example. This is the state you would get you cdl in, you license plate for you car, regular car insurance, etc. As for homeless people, they really can't obtain a cdl because under Federal law you need to show proof of residency in the state you are applying for a cdl or they can't issue it, as Federal law requires you to have only one driver license and it must be from the state you claim residency in. I suppose a homeless person could obtain a mail box service like you did and use that as their address, it may work in some areas. If I did not have a permanent residence I would just use a friend or relative's address, preferably in a state with the best personal and business tax advantage for myself.

 

in the scheme of things with 3 million trucks on the road daily
there is just a small % of homeless drivers vagabounds of the asphalt

 

That's right... the reason Illinois made it to where you could no longer transfer out of state CDL is because and EX governor here was taking payoffs for handing people CDLs.... I'm in the opposite side of the boat as you I live in Illinois but plan on moving to Northwest Indiana in the next couple of years because taxes in Cook "crook" county are ridiculous

 

you designate one home as a primary residence, and not many homeless people have a car. it isn't complicated