NEW YORK STATE — U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy announced on Friday, December 12 that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's nationwide audit of non-domiciled commercial driver's licenses (CDLs) uncovered that the New York Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) has been routinely issuing CDLs to foreign drivers illegally. 

According to the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT), New York State DMV officials confirmed that their licensing system is programmed to default to an automatic eight-year expiration for non-REAL ID CDLs, intentionally disregarding the expiration of a foreign driver's lawful presence in the U.S. This allowed the state to grant long-term commercial driving privileges to foreigners that expired long after the expiration of their lawful presence in the country. 

The audit also uncovered numerous cases where the New York DMV relied upon expired lawful presence documents to issue commercial licenses. This allowed foreign drivers whose lawful status in the United States had expired to obtain a CDL. 

“When more than half of the licenses reviewed were issued illegally, it isn't just a mistake—it is a dereliction of duty by state leadership. Gov. Hochul must immediately revoke these illegally issued licenses. If they refuse to follow the law, we will withhold federal highway funding,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy. “This administration will never stop fighting to keep you and your family safe on our roads.”

New York State DMV spokesperson Walter McClure responded, "Secretary Duffy is lying about New York State once again in a desperate attempt to distract from the failing, chaotic administration he represents. Here is the truth: Commercial Drivers Licenses are regulated by the Federal Government, and New York State DMV has, and will continue to, comply with federal rules. "

"Every CDL we issue is subject to verification of an applicant's lawful status through federally-issued documents reviewed in accordance with federal regulations. This is just another stunt from Secretary Duffy, and it does nothing to keep our roads safer. We will review USDOT’s letter and respond accordingly,” said McClure.

USDOT has ordered New York to immediately revoke every illegally issued license held by these foreign drivers and come into compliance or risk losing approximately $73 million in federal highway funding.  

USDOT has also demanded that New York take the following corrective measures to avoid funding being withheld:

• Immediately pause the issuance of all new, renewed, transferred, or upgraded non-domiciled CDLs or commercial learner’s permits (CLPs).
• Conduct a comprehensive internal audit to identify every non-domiciled license that was issued in violation of federal regulations and the policies, practices, and procedures that allowed for the issuance of non-compliant licenses.  
• Immediately revoke all unexpired, noncompliant licenses and remove unqualified drivers from the road.