English proficiency rules for NC truck drivers: roadside checks and what's next

The short version

Federal rules say a truck driver must read and speak English well enough to do the job. Since June 25, 2025, drivers who fail a roadside English check are placed out of service, not just cited. [1][4]

The rule applies in North Carolina, including to most intrastate trucks of 26,001 lb or more. State rules adopt the federal driver rules and add no English exception. [11]

FMCSA proposed on Aug. 10, 2026 to write the out-of-service step into federal rules. Comments closed Oct. 9, and no final rule had been published as of Oct. 20, 2026. [2][9]

Carriers share the risk. The same rule bars a carrier from letting an unqualified driver drive, and an out-of-service order leaves the truck parked until a new driver arrives. [1][4]

What the rule says

The rule is 49 CFR 391.11(b)(2). It has four parts: a driver must be able to talk with the public, understand English traffic signs and signals, answer official questions, and fill out reports and records. [1]

The rule is old. The Interstate Commerce Commission first set an English requirement in 1936, and FMCSA's 2026 proposal traces today's text back to it. [4]

Section 391.11(a) puts a duty on the carrier too. A motor carrier may not require or permit someone to drive a commercial truck unless that person is qualified, and English is one of the qualifications. [1]

Deaf and hard-of-hearing drivers who hold a federal hearing exemption meet the English rule if they can read and write English. FMCSA says its 2014 guidance on this is still in effect. [4]

How enforcement changed

For years the rule had little bite. CVSA, the group that sets the roadside out-of-service criteria, listed English violations from 2005 to 2015, then removed them. [4]

In 2016 an FMCSA memo told its inspectors to write the violation but not to put the driver out of service. That stayed the policy until 2025. [4]

Executive Order 14286, signed April 28, 2025, told FMCSA to drop the 2016 guidance and make English violations an out-of-service condition. CVSA's board voted on May 1 to restore the out-of-service listing. [5][4]

That change took effect June 25, 2025. An FMCSA memo in April 2026 replaced the 2025 roadside policy, and CVSA updated its criteria to follow FMCSA's current guidance, so state inspectors use it too. [4]

How the roadside check works

Under FMCSA's policy, as its proposed rule describes it, inspectors start every roadside inspection in English. A check only begins if the first contact suggests the driver may not understand. [4]

The first step is an interview, to see whether the driver can answer official questions. A driver who passes that goes on to a test of U.S. highway sign recognition in English. [4]

The sign test includes electronic message signs, the kind that post crash and detour warnings. We could not read FMCSA's memo itself, so we can't say how many signs or which questions are used. [4]

A driver who fails is cited under 391.11(b)(2) and, outside the U.S.-Mexico border zones, placed out of service. FMCSA can also send disqualification letters and seek civil penalties. [4]

Inside the U.S.-Mexico border commercial zones, drivers are cited but not put out of service unless their trip leaves the zone. That exception does not reach drivers working in North Carolina. [4]

What an out-of-service order costs

An out-of-service driver can't move the truck. The carrier has to send a replacement, which FMCSA estimates takes about two days, at about $800 a day in downtime. [4]

Repeated violations can hurt a carrier's Safety Measurement System scores, the CSA numbers that brokers and shippers look at. FMCSA says carriers are responsible for confirming a driver is qualified before the next dispatch. [4]

Driving while under an out-of-service order is a separate and serious problem. Under G.S. 20-17.4(g), a first conviction for it disqualifies a CDL holder for 180 days to one year. [26]

In NC, fines for breaking the out-of-service criteria are charged to the motor carrier, not the driver. The Highway Patrol may set those fines up to CVSA's schedule. We found no ELP-specific fine amount. [11][12]

The numbers so far

FMCSA's proposal counted 7,812 English violations nationwide from January to June 24, 2025, with only 33 out-of-service orders. From June 25, 2025 to March 19, 2026, it counted 60,399 violations and 19,045 out-of-service orders. [4]

DOT later said more than 26,000 drivers had been placed out of service for English since strict enforcement began. It didn't give an end date for that count. [15][16]

In CVSA's May 2026 Roadcheck, English proficiency was the fourth most common driver out-of-service violation, with 361 drivers, about 9 percent of the total. [19]

The NC State Highway Patrol joined a one-night sweep with SC, Florida and Georgia on Sept. 26, 2026. It ran 552 inspections, put 78 drivers out of service and wrote 12 English citations, with no NC-only breakdown. [17]

The proposed rule and the new law

FMCSA's Aug. 10, 2026 proposal, docket FMCSA-2026-0826, adds English violations to the federal definition of an out-of-service order. It also adds a new 391.11(c) on placing failing drivers out of service right away. [2][4]

FMCSA says the proposal creates no new duties, because inspectors already do this under CVSA's criteria. Once it is in federal rules, states in the federal safety grant program must keep a matching rule even if CVSA changes course. [4]

Congress already asked for this. The 2026 appropriations law, signed Feb. 3, 2026, tells DOT to update its rules so that breaking 391.11(b)(2) triggers an out-of-service order. [6][7]

Land Line reported more than 1,700 comments by Sept. 22, most in support. FMCSA put the cost to carriers at about $14.4 million a year. No final rule had been published as of Oct. 20, 2026. A House bill co-written by NC Rep. David Rouzer would also require English proficiency for CDL holders; it had stalled after a March committee vote. [16][9][22]

Why it applies to NC intrastate trucks

North Carolina's rule, 14B NCAC 07C .0101, applies federal Parts 390 to 397 to intrastate trucks of 26,001 lb or more, vehicles carrying 16 or more people, and placarded hazmat loads. [11]

The rule's only Part 391 breaks for intrastate drivers are the age-21 minimum and some medical waivers. There is no break for English, as of the 2018 version of the rule we read. [11]

The Highway Patrol enforces these rules. G.S. 20-381 lets it stop and inspect motor carrier vehicles and enforce the federal safety regulations. [13]

DOT has used safety grant money to push states that lag. In October 2025 FMCSA withheld about $40.7 million from California over English enforcement. We found no report of a similar threat against NC on English. [21]

CDL tests, non-domiciled licenses and getting help

Under 49 CFR 383.133, CDL knowledge tests may be given in another language, but without an interpreter. Skills tests have to be in English, and the applicant must follow spoken English commands. [8]

Transportation Secretary Duffy said in February 2026 that DOT would require English-only CDL tests. No such rule had been published as of Oct. 20, 2026, so ask NCDMV which languages it offers. [23][9]

Non-domiciled CDLs are a separate issue. FMCSA's rule limiting them took effect March 16, 2026. It is about who may get a license, not about English skills. [10]

In NC, a federal sample in January 2026 found 27 of 50 NC non-domiciled CDLs were issued improperly, and the state has since canceled or downgraded more than a thousand. [22]

Carriers can screen during hiring and offer English training, which FMCSA allows but does not require. The NC Community College System runs adult English classes, and its site has a tool to find a local college. [4][14]