Where Can I get a PO Box with a street address?

Green you are jumping into an industry full of regulations that doesn't fool around. It's not like the old days anymore and you can pull wool over their eyes. #1 is to CYA and protect that CDL. Like CDL1968 said all states keep track of commercial drivers with the CDLIS including TN. The day I went to get my CDL they said my license was suspended in 3 other states I lived in which all boiled down to a speeding ticket when I was 16 years old and I wasn't even driving. A so called friend was and young and dumb we switched drivers because he didn't have a license and he said he would pay the ticket. Well he never did and I found out the hard way 18 years later. I had to pay that ticket, get letters of clearance and reinstatement in 3 states to get my CDL. What state do I live in? Tennessee!! So you think they won't find out?

If you try to get sneaky every time you are backed in a corner you won't last long. If you can't fix your problem in VA you are not going to fix it anywhere else.

What are you going to present as a drivers license? You can't go to school without one. In many states you need your regular license 1 year before you get your CDL permit. You can't transfer it to another state without a utility bill, car registration or other physical proof of residency.

 

Where did you hear all of that?

Your record is there, you can't change it and many applications will ask if you held previous addresses. Some companies will check you out and there are ways to detect these things as I found out (read below).

Just to tell you one of my horror stories, I leased out one of my trucks to an owner operator who did this exact thing, his used a Mailboxes ETC as an address because he was living in one state at one time and didn't want to go through the process to get his hazmat endorsement when he moved to Texas. He got into an accident in his "home state" (not his fault) and was going to be served to show up at court for the case against the person who caused the accident. The server ended up at a Mailboxes office, they confirmed they allow address usage for residency. She reported it back to the court who put out a bench warrant (don't know why other than the appearance of obfuscation of residency laws) and then the court contacted me because I directly owned the truck. I had to track the guy down, told him what's up and he is no longer allowed to drive the truck (he was in breech of contract), convinced him to surrender himself to the nearest police department and retrieve my truck. He had his CDL revoked and I don't remember if it is for life or just a few years but it should be for life.

Since that time I work with a company that does complete background checks on people who want to lease my trucks. They showed me how to detect some of these things so I just wanted to tell you what I went through.

 

CSA doesn't care what state you live in, that's what you need to be worried about! And the UPS store gives you a real address, that's what I use.

 

Back in the old days Green truck drivers would lose their license for one reason or another. No problem they would go to the another state and get that state's CDL. The programs today are in place to stop that to keep these bad drivers out from behind the wheel. It's not BS, it's safe guards to keep the highways safer. If one has a history of disobeying traffic laws they are a higher risk for a wreck. The FMCSA has evolved a long way in the past 50 years and they still are making new rules. CSA2010 was the last big kicker.

True drivers follow federal law, but they also follow all the state laws. The feds lay down the rules and the state enforces them. They have to follow the federal guidelines and can be stricter on things but not slacker. So they do have their own leverage. Now that all states are computerized together it's almost impossible to clean up a record by moving. It follows you like a fly on....

You keep referring to your problem as dealing with gooberment BS. Just tell us the heart of the problem and we'll tell you the possible ways to fix it. There have been a lot worse cases get their CDL. You come out here you don't want any skeletons in the closet. You just do your job under their rules and then get your paycheck. It's really not that hard to play their game.

There's a big difference in getting a UPS in the state you have a license and trying to use one in another state. First your employer is going to wonder why your license doesn't match state of residency. They will set up your payroll taxes based on your drivers license. Plus one has 30 days to transfer your license when you move. More than 30 days and your license is invalid.

One can be the best driver there is and some drunk can still hit you. Whenever there is lawyers involved they will find out every bit of info they can use against you. I don't know about you but I couldn't work day to day knowing my livelihood and everything I worked for can be taken from you. CYA and live in peace.

 

You have to do it through UPS not USPS. The main reason for companies doing this is because of home time. If you don't live within their shipping lanes then they won't be able to get you home. Its bad enough that you will rarely see home so you at least want to be in their shipping lanes. There are plenty of companies out there to choose from. You just have to take the time to find one. These mega-carriers spend millions of dollars on advertising and is why you new guys only know about or hear about the top ten mega-carriers. This should set off alarm bells in your head to begin with! Why would a company have to spend millions of dollars in advertising to get YOU too work for THEM?! Do you know of any other employer out there that does that?

Take the time do your home work. It will pay off in the long run! Your chances of success are substantially higher with the smaller companies and so will be your earning potential.

 

My license has never matched where I live. Now I have no home of my own, I have a UPS box in WA and no physical address.