Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy stated on January 8, 2026, that a whopping 54% of North Carolina’s non-domiciled commercial driver’s licenses, also known as CDLs, issued to foreign nationals looked over by federal officials were found to be illegal. This new discovery comes as the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is carrying out a series of audits concerning the state’s truck licensing system.
If North Carolina doesn’t immediately revoke all of the illegally issued licenses, the Department of Transportation will withhold a total of $50 million in federal funding. Duffy put out a statement on the finding saying, “North Carolina’s failure to follow the rules isn’t just shameful — it’s dangerous. I’m calling on state leadership to immediately remove these dangerous drivers from our roads and clean up their system.”
He then added, “President Donald Trump and I are committed to keeping you and your family safe on our roads.” The FMCSA sent out a letter to North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein and to Department of Public Safety Commissioner Paul Tine, informing both men that the state illegally issued non-domiciled CDLs to drivers who are ineligible, including individuals who had valid licenses despite their lawful presence in the country having expired and those whose lawful status in the United States had not been verified by the state.
FMCSA head honcho Derek Barrs spoke out about the discovery, saying the level of noncompliance with the law in North Carolina was “egregious.” In order to keep its federal funding, the state will have to put an immediately pause on the issuance of non-domiciled CDLs and identify all unexpired non-domiciled CDLs that are not in compliance with FMCSA rules. Then they will need to revoke and reissue all noncompliant non-domiciled CDLs if they meet the federal requirements.
According to Fox News, North Carolina will also be required to carry out a comprehensive audit to identify all procedural and programming mess-ups, training and quality assurance problems, insufficient policies and practices and any other issues that may have led to non-domiciled CDLs being approved despite not meeting federal rules.
Duffy decided to make CDL license issuance one of his top priorities after an Indian national who was issued a CDL in the state of California allegedly caused a major accident that killed a car full of individuals on a Florida turnpike. Since the accident, the Golden State has revoked a total of 17,000 CDL licenses that failed to comply with federal law as DOT continues to take a deep dive into the matter through a nationwide audit that was kicked off due to an executive order from President Donald Trump concerning truck driver roadway safety.
A report from NC Newsline said that the Department of Motor Vehicles put out a statement after the local news outlet asked them to comment on the above mentioned letter was sent, which said, “NCDMV is committed to upholding safety and integrity in our licensing processes. We have been collaborating closely with our federal partners for several months to resolve these matters that are impacting many U.S. states.”
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