Might need a little more background / info here. I live in WY and will be doing my training and all in CA....pending my graduating down there, I think i will take the test (somehow) up here in WY with one of their trucks so I can be licensed in wy.
I was just asking because I've heard of people from Wyoming going to Montana for training and somehow getting their Montana CDLs, then going back home and transferring them to Wyoming right away. I didn't think you could take the test and get a license in another state but I've been told a lot of people have done it. Not sure how it works though.
We had lots of out of state students in my school. The resident students simply had to pass the skills test and take the paperwork to any DMV office, turn in their Class D and then they were issued their Class A. Out of state students had to go to the Madison (state capitol) to receive their Class A once they passed the skills test. I'm sure it's just a matter of a form to fill out and I'm not sure if they have to surrender their home state Class D. they probably do that once they get home.
When I went to school in MO, I had an IL license. After taking the tests for my CDL permit we went to the license branch and I was issued a MO CDL permit with the school's address on it. That permit was traded for a regular class A CDL with the same address from MO. I used that license for a while (almost two years) even though I was an IL resident. When I switched divisions with PAM, they finally made me change back to IL. All I had to do was take the written tests over again.
I'm in the process of signing up with Watkins-Shepard in Missoula. They told me I needed to get my local learner's permit before I came out there, since we would be driving with a trainer right away, and i would get a Montana CDL before class was over.
I live in ID, but going to school in UT. I'll get my "Paper CDL" while I am there in UT. However, I will only have 60 days to switch it over from UT, to ID once it is issued, and will require a Written GK test, and a fee to do mine. All states are diffrent, and most of the hoops are the same. Your best bet is to call your local DMV and Ask.
Jon - have you checked with anyone in Montana (besides the school) to see if that will work? I was told by one county in Montana that it doesn't work that way, you have to prove residency in Montana and have their regular class d drivers license first - THEN you can go through the process of getting a CDL which would include starting over with all the written tests, etc.. even if you already have a permit in another state. I'm not saying you're wrong but I hope you don't go all the way to Montana and then find out it won't work that way. Keep us informed as to how it works or what you find out and good luck!
