WASHINGTON, DC — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is moving to codify English-language proficiency requirements for commercial drivers, a step that would make failure to read road signs or communicate sufficiently in English an explicit out-of-service violation under federal regulations.
Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy framed the proposal as an effort to make current enforcement standards more durable by placing them directly into regulation rather than relying on agency guidance.
Under the proposed rule, commercial motor vehicle drivers who cannot sufficiently read or speak English or understand highway traffic signs and signals would be placed out of service.
FMCSA reported that more than 26,000 drivers have already been removed from service for failing English-language proficiency evaluations since stricter enforcement resumed.
“By making these commonsense English proficiency standards permanent, we are closing a dangerous loophole that has cost Americans their lives,” Duffy stated.
Federal English-proficiency requirements for commercial drivers date to 1937. A 2016 policy change, however, barred inspectors from placing drivers out of service solely because they failed an English-language evaluation, according to the Transportation Department.
Instead, drivers who failed those evaluations could receive administrative citations while remaining in service.
The department reinstated stricter enforcement in April 2025 in connection with a White House executive order addressing commercial-driver qualifications and highway safety.
FMCSA Administrator Derek D. Barrs argued that codifying the standard would give roadside inspectors clearer regulatory authority to issue immediate out-of-service orders.
“This rule ensures that roadside inspectors will always have the full force of federal regulation behind them to issue immediate out-of-service orders whenever an unqualified driver is detected,” Barrs stated.
The proposal would establish a nationwide out-of-service standard for drivers who fail English-language proficiency requirements, limiting differences in how states apply the rule.
It would also apply at the U.S.-Mexico border, where drivers who cannot sufficiently read or speak English could be placed out of service before traveling beyond the border area.
The Transportation Department linked its enforcement push to fatal crashes in Florida and Colorado in which investigations found that drivers were unable to read English warning signs or communicate with law enforcement. The material released by the department did not provide additional details about those crashes.
The proposal has been published in the Federal Register and is subject to a public comment period before any final rule is adopted.
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