We know that the U.S. Department of Transportation has called for enforcement of longstanding English-proficiency regulations for truck drivers.
But exactly what are commercial motor vehicle enforcement officers being told about how to apply the regulation?
On Feb. 3, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration released a list of frequently asked questions regarding English proficiency.
FMCSA uses the FAQ to answer questions about the evaluation process, commercial border zones and out-of-service designations.
English-proficiency evaluation process
In May 2025, FMCSA issued guidance on assessing a truck driver’s English proficiency. The first part of the assessment involves an interview to establish the driver’s ability to understand and respond to questions in English. The second phase of the assessment determines if the driver can sufficiently understand and explain the meaning of U.S. highway signs.
The agency clarified in its newly released guidance that inspectors do not need to move on to the second phase of the assessment if the driver fails the interview stage.
“FMCSA enforcement personnel have been trained to skip step two of the English-language-proficiency assessment procedure if the commercial motor vehicle driver does not successfully complete step one,” the agency wrote. “They have also been trained to cite non-compliant drivers in accordance with the enforcement policy.”
Commercial border zones
The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance had several questions regarding commercial border zones along the U.S.-Mexico border. Previous guidance directed inspectors to cite the violation but not place the driver out of service. For instance, it’s why states like Texas report lots of violations but a low out-of-service rate.
FMCSA’s new guidance clarified that not only are Mexico-domiciled drivers safe in the commercial border zone, but even U.S. drivers won’t be placed out of service if they fail an English-proficiency test in the zone.
“When performing inspections of drivers operating commercial motor vehicles in the border commercial zones along the U.S.-Mexico border, enforcement personnel should cite non-compliant drivers for the violation but should refrain from placing the driver out of service or initiating an action to disqualify the driver,” the agency wrote.
The border zones range from three to 20 miles. FMCSA specifically cited locations in the Texas counties of Cameron, Hidalgo, Starr and Willacy; the city of El Paso, Texas; and locations along the border in New Mexico.
Out-of-service designations
With the exception of the commercial border zones, FMCSA clarified that it has implemented hardcoding to ensure that all English-proficiency violations are out-of-service violations. FMCSA said that beginning in June, enforcement officers were not allowed to alter the out-of-service designations for the three violation codes associated with 49 CFR § 391.11(b)(2): 391.11B2Q; 391.11B2S; and 391.11B2Z.
English-proficiency provision
A lot of action has been taken to enforce English proficiency since the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association petitioned CVSA in March 2025.
On April 28, 2025, President Donald Trump issued an executive order to enforce existing federal rules that require commercial vehicle drivers 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 following month, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced in Austin, Texas, that the U.S. Department of Transportation would begin enforcing English-proficiency regulations and take violators out of service.
On Feb. 3, a spending bill signed into law by Trump made his executive order on English proficiency into law. LL
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