Effective today, non-compliance with Title 49 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 391.11(b)(2) is now a driver out-of-service violation, according to the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s (CVSA) North American Standard Out-of-Service Criteria, which are the criteria that commercial motor vehicle enforcement personnel utilize to identify violations during an inspection that prohibit a driver from operating a commercial motor vehicle.
CFR 391.11(b)(2), “General qualifications of drivers,” states that a driver must be able to read and speak the English language sufficiently to converse with the general public, to understand highway traffic signs and signals in the English language, to respond to official inquiries, and to make entries on reports and records.
The CVSA North American Standard Out-of-Service Criteria has been amended to state that drivers who cannot satisfy the English language proficiency requirements of § 391.11(b)(2), as per the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) Enforcement Guidance Memo MC-SEE-2025-0001, will be declared out of service. The printed version of CVSA’s North American Standard Out-of-Service Criteria is updated on April 1 of each year. Although the English language proficiency out-of-service violation takes effect on June 25, it will not be listed in the printed version of out-of-service criteria until the April 1, 2026, edition is released. However, it is important to understand that the requirement to comply with § 391.11(b)(2) is currently in effect, and failure to comply will result in the driver being placed out of service.
In addition, all applicable inspection procedures have been updated to add a note to the “Greet and Prepare the Driver” step of the inspection process to reference FMCSA Enforcement Guidance Memo MC-SEE-2025-0001, which provides federal guidance to roadside inspection personnel on how to assess and enforce the English language proficiency requirements in § 391.11(b)(2).
CVSA’s membership consists of commercial motor vehicle safety enforcement officials in Canada, Mexico and the U.S. The English language proficiency regulation is a U.S. requirement. It does not apply in CVSA’s other member countries – Canada and Mexico. However, drivers and motor carriers from other countries operating in the U.S. need to comply with these requirements.
Motor carriers and drivers may visit FMCSA’s website for guidance and information on the English language proficiency roadside assessment.
Pursuant to the April 28 Enforcing Commonsense Rules of the Road for America’s Truck Drivers Executive Order, on May 1, the CVSA Board of Directors voted to add non-compliance with § 391.11(b)(2) to the CVSA North American Standard Out-of-Service Criteria, effective June 25. This revision to the out-of-service criteria was approved by the board under an emergency provision within the CVSA Bylaws, which allows the board to vote on a change to the out-of-service criteria without a vote by Class I Members, which is the usual process for changes to the criteria. The board utilized the emergency bylaw provision to meet the executive order’s 60-day deadline.
FMCSA is the lead federal government agency responsible for regulating and providing safety oversight of commercial motor vehicles. FMCSA’s mission is to reduce crashes, injuries and fatalities involving large trucks and buses. CVSA is a nonprofit organization whose members are commercial motor vehicle safety officials who enforce the federal regulations. CVSA’s mission is to improve commercial motor vehicle safety and enforcement by providing guidance, education and advocacy for enforcement and industry across North America.
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Original article published by CVSA