Free CDL HazMat Endorsement Practice Test 2026
The Hazardous Materials (H) endorsement is required to haul placardable quantities of hazardous materials. It covers federal regulations, hazard classes, placarding, loading and unloading, and emergency response. A TSA background check is also required.
Why must you leave 'outage' when loading liquid into a cargo tank?
About the CDL HazMat Endorsement Test
The HazMat endorsement is the only CDL test that comes with a federal security check. Before you can haul placardable quantities of hazardous materials, the Transportation Security Administration requires fingerprinting and a background check, and the endorsement must be renewed periodically. The written test covers the hazard-class system, when and how to placard a load, loading and segregation rules, and the emergency-response information that must travel with the shipment. It is the most detail-heavy CDL test, so steady, repeated practice pays off most here.
What's on the CDL HazMat Endorsement knowledge test
The HazMat Endorsement knowledge test is written from Section 9 (Hazardous Materials) of the national CDL manual, the text every state's CDL manual follows. You take it only if you need the H endorsement or drive a vehicle that requires it.
Federal rules fix the pass mark at 80 percent for every CDL knowledge test, but leave the number of questions to each state, so check your own state's CDL manual for the exact count. This practice test uses all 16 questions in our HazMat Endorsement bank, each checked against the manual page shown with it.
- Source manual
- National CDL Manual, Section 9 (Hazardous Materials)
- Number of questions
- Set by each state: federal rules require a set number of questions, with a prescribed number from each knowledge area (49 CFR 383.133)
Manual sections this test is drawn from
- Section 9: Hazardous Materials - The Intent of the Regulations, Hazardous Materials Transportation, Communication Rules, Loading and Unloading, Bulk Packaging Marking, Loading and Unloading, Driving and Parking Rules, Emergencies, Hazardous Materials Glossary
Sample questions from this test, with answers
Want to test yourself first? Take the test above before reading these. Every answer below is checked against the source shown.
1. If you transport Division 1.1, 1.2, or 1.3 explosives, what must you have and follow?
- A. A police escort vehicle
- B. A second licensed driver
- C. A daily permit from each city
- D. A written route plan (correct)
Why: Drivers hauling these explosives must have a written route plan and follow it, along with written emergency instructions, shipping papers, and a copy of FMCSR Part 397. A parked vehicle must be watched unless it is in an approved safe haven.
Source: National CDL Manual, p.9-14 (PDF p.118), 9.6.5 Route Restrictions
2. Why must you leave 'outage' when loading liquid into a cargo tank?
- A. Empty space cuts down on surge
- B. Liquids expand as they warm up (correct)
- C. It keeps the tank under its weight limit
- D. It lets vapors escape from the vents
Why: Never fill a cargo tank completely. Liquids expand as they warm, and different liquids expand by different amounts, so you must know the outage each one needs.
Source: National CDL Manual, p.8-2 (PDF p.104), 8.2.6 Outage
3. To get a hazardous materials endorsement, what must you pass besides the knowledge test?
- A. A road test with hazmat cargo
- B. A hazmat medical exam
- C. A TSA background check (correct)
- D. A college chemistry course
Why: The hazmat endorsement requires passing the written test and a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) background check, which includes fingerprinting.
Source: National CDL Manual, p.1-5 (PDF p.15), 1.1 Commercial Driver License Tests (Endorsements)
4. Before hazmat is moved, who has a role in checking that it is properly described, marked, and labeled?
- A. Only the shipper who packaged the load
- B. Only the carrier that moves the shipment
- C. Only the company that will receive it
- D. The shipper, the carrier, and the driver (correct)
Why: The shipper packages, marks, and labels the material and prepares the papers. The carrier checks the shipment before transport and refuses improper ones, and the driver makes sure it is properly identified, marked, and labeled.
Source: National CDL Manual, p.9-2 (PDF p.106), 9.2 Hazardous Materials Transportation - Who Does What
5. While you are behind the wheel, where must hazmat shipping papers be?
- A. Locked in the glove box for safekeeping
- B. Within reach while belted, or in the door pouch (correct)
- C. In the trailer, right next to the cargo they describe
- D. In the sleeper berth, out of sight
Why: Keep the papers within reach with your seat belt on, or in the driver's door pouch, where anyone entering the cab can easily see them. When you leave the wheel, put them in the door pouch or on the driver's seat.
Source: National CDL Manual, p.9-15 (PDF p.119), 9.6.10 Where to Keep Shipping Papers and Emergency Response Information
6. When fueling a vehicle that carries hazardous materials, you must:
- A. Turn the engine off and keep someone at the nozzle (correct)
- B. Keep the engine idling to power the pumps
- C. Lock the nozzle open and step away from it while it fills
- D. Fuel only with the trailer air supply out
Why: Turn off the engine before fueling a vehicle that contains hazardous materials, and someone must always be at the nozzle controlling the fuel flow.
Source: National CDL Manual, p.9-14 (PDF p.118), 9.6.7 Refuel with Engine Off
Other CDL Endorsement Tests
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Passenger Endorsement →