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DOT-Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration · Department of Transportation

FY 2026 Commercial Driver's License Program Implementation (CDLPI)

Closed for this year

In short: DOT-Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration expects to make 60 awards of up to $105.2 million. Open to many kinds of groups. See who can apply.

Key facts

Deadline
Next round: about May 18 – Jun 17, 2027 Estimate, not confirmed by the funder ?
The funder says: “No Explanation”
Award size
Up to $105.2M
Total available
$105.2M · about 60 awards
Match ?
Not required · Work out your budget and match
Who can apply
Nonprofit with 501(c)(3), Private college or university, Tribal government, State government, Larger business, Small business, Public college or university, City or town government, County government
Where
Anywhere in the U.S., including Tennessee

Closed for this year

Last round: May 18 – Jun 17, 2026, as the funder posted it.

Next round: about May 18 – Jun 17, 2027 Estimate, not confirmed by the funder. The funder hasn't announced it. GrantMe estimated it from last year's dates.

Use the time now: get ready, read last year's guidelines on the funder's page, and save this grant to put the dates in your calendar.

Before you apply: federal grants require an active SAM.gov registration (Unique Entity ID) and a Grants.gov account. Registration is free but can take weeks, so start now, not when the deadline is close. Get-ready checklist

How this fits you

  • Available in Tennessee (nationwide program)
  • No match required
  • Past Tennessee awards on file: 1

Tell us who you are to see whether you're eligible.

About this grant

The CDLPI program objective is to provide financial assistance to States and other eligible entities to carry out and improve the national CDL program. The national CDL program focuses on the concept that each driver has only one driving record and only one licensing document, commonly referred to as "“One Driver — One License — One Record."” Further, the national CDL program requires States to conduct knowledge and skills testing before issuing a Commercial Learner’s Permit (CLP) and/or CDL; to maintain a complete and accurate driver history record (DHR) for anyone who obtains a CLP and/or CDL; and to impose driver disqualifications, as required by the regulations.

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Who in Tennessee has won this program

1 award to Tennessee groups since 2024. Largest shown:

Past Tennessee winners
Past winnerWhereAmountFiscal year
State of TennesseeNashville$159K spent that year2025

Source: Federal Audit Clearinghouse. Past awards show who this program funds. They don't guarantee future awards.

More from DOT-Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

About the federal program

Commercial Driver's License Program Implementation Grant, also called “CDLPI”
Program number 20.232 (the federal Assistance Listing number) · U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration · Cooperative agreement (a grant with close agency involvement), project grant

How applications are judged

All discretionary (competitive) grant program applications undergo a series of reviews prior to award selection as required in 2 CFR �� 200.204 and 205. These reviews include: 1) technical review that provides an independent assessment of the technical/programmatic merit of an application. At least three qualified individuals are selected to review each application to ensure diversity of perspective and knowledge. Individuals are selected based on their technical education and experience and the extent to which the individual has engaged in relevant work, the capacities in which the individual has done so, and the quality of such work; 2) suitability review that provides a risk assessment on each applicant�s organization to ensure the applicant is suitable to receive and manage Federal funds. The risk assessment is conducted in several parts: 1) a debarment and suspension review that included a review of the applicant�s administrative capability self-certification and a check against the applicant�s records in the System for Award Management (www.sam.gov); 2) a review of the applicant�s history with other Federal agencies in the Single Audit Clearinghouse Database; and 3) an evaluation of the applicant�s Single Audit in accordance with the Single Audit Act; 3) past performance review that provides information that is considered as a possible indicator for predicting future performance. Many applicants for FMCSA programs have received FMCSA funding in the past and will be...

Match

There is no matching requirement for the CDLPI program for 2025.

Examples of funded projects

Fiscal year 2016: 2016 Funded projects include, but are not limited to data integration, addressing data backlog, training on the use of automated skills testing systems, expanding system capabilities to include mobile platforms, fraud prevention using facial recognition software, correction of data errors, outreach to court officers in the correct adjudicating and reporting of CDL convictions, outreach to State partners, operational support of the skills testing system platform, examiner Train-the Trainer and refresher training, replacing paper-based systems with electronic systems for use in testing and in reporting data, and overt and covert monitoring of examiners. Fiscal year 2017: Funded a project to upload and cleanse medical certificate data for programming services to integrate the State�s system with the Commercial Skills Test Information Management System (CSTIMS) to receive out-of-state and third party test scores electronically. Fiscal year 2018: CDLPI Basic Grants - Only SDLAs are eligible. Applications that support the development, implementation, and maintenance of all or part of the CDL program or that have a direct impact on a State�s compliance with the...

This program on SAM.gov

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Source: Federal grants from Grants.gov · the official federal record. Last checked by GrantMe Oct 6, 2026.

Reference numbers: official notice number FM-CDL-26-001 · program number 20.232