I am considering school in Missouri but reside in Michigan. Checked with my DMV today. If I train out of state and obtain my cdl...in order to obtain the same license in Michigan I will need to take all exams again and pay all fees again including the skills test. This would require renting a truck also....seems like quite a racquet to me....seeing as the law requires a person to have an address / I.D. reflecting their current, actual residence. Not only is this inconvienent its kinda expensive.
Illinois is the same way...got to retake all written & skills tests. If you move into the state, hoping to find work when you get here, you might have to choose between violating the law requiring you to transfer your license within so many days or lose your livelihood when you can't take the skills test because you just don't have access to a truck. Personally, I'd fail to transfer the license. If cited, I'd exercise the right to a trial by jury, and encourage the jury to use their right to nullify the law because the law is ridiculous. Obey the law & give up your livelihood, or violate the law and keep your professional credentials long enough to find employment in your field...at which point you'd have the equipment necessary to take the test and transfer your license.
In Illinois you can thank George Ryan for the stringent CDL procedures. In fact that is why he is in jail. I wonder if the Bureau of Prisons will allow Blago and Ryan to share a cell. Two governors in a row that go from the Governor's Mansion to another Big House. Anyway Illinois officials under then Secretary of State Ryan were basically selling CDLs to people who weren't qualified. One of those drivers tried to beat an Amtrak while hauling fuel. He didn't make it and a lot of people died. That's when the whole scam came out. Eventually he was convicted and sent to jail, but every professional driver in Illinois is paying the price.
