The following information was provided by MN DVS regarding ELDT:
Employers providing driver training to their own employees are exempt from having to be a licensed driving school per Minnesota Statute.
Key: If fees are charged for training, then an entity must be licensed by the Minnesota Department of Public Safety (DPS), Driver and Vehicles Services (DVS), as a driving school.
When registering in the FMCSA Training Provider Registry (TPR), you want to list your entity as private since you would be providing training only for your own employees.
Your training program would need to meet the ELDT requirements for the training facility, equipment, curriculum and instructor qualifications.
DVS Information on State Requirements for CDL Training School/Instructor:
If you want to get things started, you can submit the commercial school application and $150.00 fee, and an instructor application and $50.00 fee after the training is completed.
All the required forms can be found on the DVS website at https://dps.mn.gov/divisions/dvs/forms-documents/Pages/driver-educator-forms.aspx.
You will want to meet with your “surety bond agent”, complete the bond form , DVS sends it to the Attorney General’s office for approval.
Be sure to instruct the agent that the name and address of the school must
match the name and address on the school application, exactly word-for-word-,
comma-for-comma, period-for-period, LLC-for LLC, etc.
Bond has to be at least $10,000 and can change due to enrollment numbers
per year.
The remainder of the paperwork, including the auto insurance certificate, vehicle inspection if the vehicle is 10-years or older, the student contract, and the curriculum can be faxed, or scanned and emailed to DVS.
If you are going to lease a permanent classroom space and range, we will need a copy of the lease agreements.
The lease must be for a minimum of one year.
We only need originals of the application and surety bond form.
The range has to be at least 90,000 square feet unobstructed usable space;
DVS does have to measure that for approval, so make sure there is enough
room.
For the curriculum:
Break it down into the topics you will be covering in each classroom session and in each BTW session. Also, list the number of hours each classroom and BTW session will run.
Be sure to include all of the required topics in Minnesota Rules, Chapter 7411.0515, and Entry Level Drivers Training (ELDT) requirements.
If you compose the curriculum in a Word document and email it to us, you can easily make any required changes and re-submit the amended curriculum right away.
It usually takes 4-5 submissions until it is correct.
Requirements to become an CDL instructor:
Completed instructor application on most recent revision (form number PS36008-10 in lower-left corner).
$50.00 fee, payable to Commissioner of Public Safety
Copy of high school/college diploma or transcript.
Fingerprint card with prints taken by any law enforcement agency.
Separate check for $33.25, payable to the Minnesota BCA.
Documentation of experience of at least 3,000 operating hours within the last five years. This can be the instructors work history.
Certified driving record if current out-of-state resident, or resident of another state within the last three years.
A note letting us know at which driver exam station you wish to test. The instructor would have to take the 100 question instructor knowledge test and assessment with me once the knowledge test is passed.
Additional Info:
Instructor must obtain CERTIFIED driving record from DPS/DVS to provide to the school owner/manager and to be kept in the instructor’s file at the school.
https://www.revisor.mn.gov/rules/7411/ (laws relating to driver education)
https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/169 (basic road rules and laws)
https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/171 (licensing information)
https://dps.mn.gov/divisions/dvs/forms-documents/Documents/CDLManual.pdf (driver’s manual)
https://dps.mn.gov/divisions/dvs/forms-documents/Pages/driver-educator-forms.aspx (forms for driver education)