What CDL Do I Need to Drive a Tow Truck?
Towing is the hardest case on this list, because the weight that decides your class is partly the weight of whatever you have just picked up. Nobody explains it well, so here is the arithmetic.
It depends on the wrecker and what it is hauling. Light duty tow trucks usually need no CDL. Heavy wreckers need a Class B, and once the towed vehicle is heavy enough the combination can be a Class A.
Why a tow truck falls where it does
The wrecker itself is a single vehicle, so if its own rating is 26,001 pounds or more it is a Class B vehicle before you hook up to anything. A light duty flatbed or wheel lift truck is often rated below that and needs no CDL for weight.
Once you tow, you may be operating a combination. If the unit being towed is rated over 10,000 pounds and the combined rating is over 26,001, the federal definition puts you in Class A. How your state treats a disabled vehicle under tow is the part that varies, and it is worth asking before you take the job.
The numbers that decide it
The federal classes are defined on the manufacturer's ratings, not on what is loaded today.
- Light duty wrecker, own GVWR under 26,001 lbs
- No CDL for weight. Most repossession and roadside trucks are here.
- Medium or heavy wrecker, own GVWR 26,001 lbs or more
- Class B CDL, plus air brakes on anything that size.
- Heavy wrecker towing a unit rated over 10,000 lbs, combination over 26,001
- Class A CDL under the federal definition.
- Towing a vehicle carrying placarded hazardous material
- The H endorsement comes into it, whatever the weight.
Air brakes
Medium and heavy wreckers have air brakes, so the restriction needs to come off before you can drive one. Light duty trucks generally do not.
Air brakes is not an endorsement. It is a restriction that stays on your license until you pass the air brake knowledge test, and it bars you from every air braked vehicle while it is there.
When the answer is different
States differ on how a towed disabled vehicle is counted, and some have specific provisions for recovery operations. This is the single best reason to ask Tennessee Driver Services directly rather than relying on a general answer.
If you expect to grow into heavy recovery, the Class A removes the question permanently. It covers the heavy wrecker, the combination and everything lighter.
What people get wrong
- Assuming the license follows the wrecker and not the combination. Pick up something heavy and the combination rating is what counts.
- Treating a tow as exempt because the towed vehicle is broken. That is a state by state question, not a federal exemption you can assume.
- Buying a heavy wrecker before holding the license to drive it.
Not sure this is what you will end up driving?
The CDL Selector asks a few yes or no questions and tells you the class and the endorsements your plans actually need, which is worth doing before you pay for a knowledge test.
Study material for the knowledge tests
Practice tests, study guides rebuilt from the state CDL manual, and narrated audio. 120 days of access, extendable to 180 or 365
Tennessee Class B CDL Study Material
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Straight trucks, dump trucks, and buses over 26,001 lbs need a Class B. If that is the vehicle you will drive, this is the study material for its knowledge and skills tests, without the Class A combination-vehicle content you do not need.
- General Knowledge
- Air Brakes
- Skills Test
- CDL Manual Audio
120, 180, 365 days of access · No subscription
Tennessee Class A CDL Study Material
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Pulling a trailer over 10,000 lbs takes a Class A. Three written tests stand between you and that license: General Knowledge, Air Brakes, and Combination Vehicles. This covers all three, plus the skills test.
- General Knowledge
- Air Brakes
- Combination Vehicles
- Skills Test
- CDL Manual Audio
120, 180, 365 days of access · No subscription
No subscription. If more time is needed, it’s your choice.
Questions people ask about driving a tow truck
Do I need a CDL to drive a tow truck?
Not for a light duty wrecker rated under 26,001 pounds towing light vehicles. You do for a medium or heavy wrecker at or over that rating, and potentially a Class A once the combination is heavy enough.
What CDL do I need for a heavy wrecker?
At minimum a Class B with the air brake restriction removed, because the truck's own rating clears 26,001 pounds. A Class A if you will be towing units rated over 10,000 pounds in a combination rated over 26,001.
Does the vehicle I am towing count toward the weight?
Under the federal combination definition, yes: the towed unit's rating is what decides whether you are in Class A. How your state applies that to a disabled vehicle under tow is a question for Tennessee Driver Services.
Is there a towing endorsement?
No. Only H, N, P, S, T and X are endorsements and none of them is for towing. What you need is the right class, and the air brake restriction removed.
Other vehicles, other classes
Next steps for a tow truck
This page explains the federal class definitions in 49 CFR Part 383. States may be stricter and several have their own intrastate exemptions, so the edge cases are decided by Tennessee Driver Services. BeginCDL.com is independent and not affiliated with any state agency.