EO 14286 pushed the DOT and the CVSA to add the inability to comply with English-language policies to their list of criteria warranting an out-of-service order for commercial drivers. New enforcement guidelines went into effect June 25.
What you should know:
- New federal regulations went into effect June 25, 2025. A Trump-era executive order mandates stricter FMCSA enforcement of English proficiency for commercial drivers, including Out-Of-Service (OOS) orders for noncompliance based on roadside assessments of speaking, understanding, and road sign interpretation.
- Employers must act now. Trucking companies should identify potentially affected workers and implement standardized occupational English testing during hiring and onboarding.
- Support and compliance are key. Employers should offer ESL resources, train managers to support ESL drivers, and document testing and training efforts to remain compliant and avoid legal or operational disruptions.
The road to regulatory compliance for truckers just got repaved.
In April 2025, President Trump signed an executive order calling on the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to overturn more lenient Obama-era policies concerning English proficiency in truck drivers.
The order pushed the FMCSA to reinstate stricter English-language proficiency (ELP) requirements and additionally mandate out-of-service (OOS) orders for truck drivers found insufficient in English-language speaking, understanding, making entries on reports and records, or road sign interpretation. OOS orders effectively take drivers off the road immediately following a violation.
On May 1, 2025, the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance voted to incorporate violations of 49 CFR § 391.11(b)(2) (the regulations, established in 1937, that impose the English-language requirements for commercial drivers) into the North American Standard OOS criteria, effective June 25, 2025.
On May 20th, Secretary of Transportation Sean P. Duffy followed up by signing an order announcing new English-language guidelines for commercial truckers.
Enforcement of new guidelines goes into effect June 25, 2025 — and logistics, supply chain, and freight industry professionals must ensure their trucking staff is fit to work under the revived regulations.
This is how you should prepare for renewed ELP requirements for commercial drivers.
1. Know the legal requirements
While FMCSA English requirements have existed since 1937, Obama granted leniency for individuals with his 2016 guidance — which gave truckers that failed the ELP requirement a citation or warning at most (up to the enforcement officer conducting the inspection). However, Trump’s executive order effectively called on the FMCSA to overturn those policies and instead, input stricter ones and strengthen enforcement.
According to 49 CFR §391.11(b)(2) (the long-standing FMCSA English standards):
A commercial 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, to respond to official inquiries, and to make entries on reports and records.”
This four-part requirement began seeing stricter enforcement starting June 25th, 2025. Truck drivers that fail to comply must be issued out-of-service orders, effectively taking them off the road immediately. This has the potential to disrupt supply chains and affect employers’ business operations.
The roadside assessment
According to a redacted internal memo outlining enforcement guidance for FMCSA personnel, all roadside inspections must be conducted in English. If the inspector suspects that the commercial driver cannot understand their instructions on initial contact, the inspector must begin an ELP roadside inspection, starting with a driver interview assessing a trucker’s ability to “respond to official inquiries and directions in English,” and, if the trucker answers sufficiently, progress to a highway traffic sign recognition assessment.
During the first portion of the test, the interview, the drivers cannot refer to tools like I-Speak cards, cue cards, smartphone apps, or on-call telephone interpretation services — in a reversal from Obama-era guidance.
The second portion of the test, the traffic sign assessment, will assess a driver’s ability to recognize not only highway traffic and road signs but “dynamic” traffic signs, that is, electronic-display signs with changeable messages.
If the inspector finds that the driver can’t pass the two-part ELP roadside test, they must cite a violation and the driver will immediately be placed out-of-service.
The new guidelines went into effect immediately at the publication of the memorandum, May 20th, superseding 2016 guidance. However, the redacted portions of the memo are raising alarm bells about uneven enforcement and unclear guidance to employers.
State-specific requirements
Beyond federal laws, some states also stipulate their own English-language requirements for commercial truck drivers. Arkansas also recently passed a law that would fine truckers found lacking in English proficiency.
2. Identify workers who may be affected
First, notify your employees of the new regulations. Ensure they understand what is expected of them and how the new guidance may affect them at roadside stops and interactions with FMCSA personnel.
Additionally, screen your staff to determine who may be affected. If you have a significant number of foreign-born workers (and there are quite a few in the industry, making up 18% of all US truckers), an organized screening test may be the best way to find out who needs additional support to ensure compliance with the new regulations.
While you may be tempted to just have chats with all your workers to determine English proficiency, you can’t rely solely on interviews or conversations with your trucking candidates and existing staff — especially when you will need to implement systems as part of the ongoing hiring process (especially considering the high turnover in the industry).
That brings us to our next recommendation.
3. Use valid, job related English assessments
Instead of making assumptions, assess English skills fairly and consistently.
By using valid, job related assessments, you can ensure you stay within EEOC guidelines on fair hiring. Here’s our advice:
- Implement a standardized Occupational English test tailored to truck drivers
- Include speaking, listening, reading, and writing scenarios relevant to the job (for example, weigh station instructions and accident reports)
- Partner with platforms like eSkill so you can implement the tests among numerous candidates at once
When it comes to responding to the new English language rules for truck drivers, employers need to change strategy on two fronts: evaluating existing truckers, but also when hiring new truckers.
4. Incorporate language evaluation (and hard skills testing) into onboarding or pre-hire screening
Language evaluation needs to be an ongoing part of the process.
Make language testing part of the pre-employment screening process, or, if you have tools in place to help candidates learn English and pass guidelines, then post-hire onboarding to gauge their understanding.
We recommend using a language evaluation to get a benchmark on incoming candidates — but how you use that information is up to you. Whether it’s to screen out candidates or get a sense of how well candidates speak English so you can effectively help them out with additional training, your approach relies on your business needs and model.
In addition to testing language skills related to the new requirements, you can also test general hard skills related to the position. For example, you can use tests related to reading directions and maps or hazardous material handling to help you hire qualified drivers.
TIP: Don’t rely solely on interviews. Conversational fluency may mask deficiencies in reading road signs or report writing, both of which are mentioned in the executive order and considered part of English language requirements, per the FMCSA.
5. Offer language support or resources
If you’re hiring foreign-born drivers that you know will be affected by the new language requirements, it may be beneficial to offer your own language support and resources, like ESL classes.
Consider Laredo, a border town that operates in both English and Spanish. Trucking companies on both sides of the border are encouraged to administer a test or questionnaire before hiring, and due to the executive order, employers and the Laredo Motor Carriers Association are already implementing ESL training and resources for truckers.
Employers in Laredo are also beginning to use mock traffic stops to cover what may occur under the new regulations. Organizing training or mock traffic stops can also help train your staff and calm nerves when handling real roadside inspections.
6. Train managers and dispatchers
Your managers and dispatchers are also central to the cause of your whole operation, and they may be the first to notice if your drivers struggle with English comprehension.
Ensure those supervising or dispatching ESL drivers use clear, unambiguous language, are trained on how to identify communication issues, and know how to support drivers in resolving misunderstandings, especially in emergencies.
7. Document testing and training
Documenting both testing and training is a sure way to stay on the safe side of the law. Keep robust records of:
- All English proficiency tests administered
- Any accommodations offered
- Compliance-related training logs
Changes due to EO 14286 are not something that can be addressed with a band aid solution. If your company ever faces regulatory audits or discrimination claims, documentation can help. That’s also why it’s essential to implement a sustainable solution in response to the new guidelines.
How eSkill can help
eSkill has built a Commercial Driver assessment that employers can use to verify English language learning and traffic sign understanding for potential candidates, or to benchmark English proficiency in current drivers.
Our assessments are EEOC compliant and designed to support both hiring and compliance efforts.
Need to go beyond language skills? We offer testing for other critical areas too, including customizable hard skills tests on reading charts and tables, attention to detail, and more.
Ready to prepare for these new regulations and identify qualified drivers? We’ll help you create a clear, documented paper trail to support your screening and enforcement process while also testing key hard skills related to the job.
Sign up for our newsletter
