CVSA Provides Inspection and Enforcement Guidance for English Language Proficiency Requirements

The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) under the direction of an Executive Order has issued inspection and enforcement guidance to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) for regulation 49 CFR 391.11 (b) (2) - English language proficiency requirements. 

The regulation, as it stands, reads "a person is qualified to drive a CMV in interstate commerce if they can 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."

Previous memorandums provided guidance and an assessment tool to confirm a drivers' ability to communicate English sufficiently, enforce the regulations and finally, removed the out-of-service (OOS) aspect of any English proficiency violations, causing confusion among law enforcement agencies and causing inconsistent enforcement of the rule. 

The new memorandum "advises FMCSA personnel to initiate all roadside inspections in English. If the inspector’s initial contact with the driver indicates that the driver may not understand the inspector’s initial instructions, the inspector should conduct an ELP assessment in order to evaluate the driver’s compliance with 49 CFR § 391.11(b)(2). This assessment should consist of a (1) driver interview; and (2) highway traffic sign recognition assessment."  No special tools should be used by the driver to communicate in English."

If the inspector determines the driver cannot sufficiently communicate in English through the initial interview, the driver should be cited and placed OOS.  If the inspector cannot make such a determination based on the initial interview, a second "traffic sign" assessment may be necessary.

This new guidance is effective June 25,2025.  All interviews, assessments, citations, and OOS orders should be documented in full and the inspector should take action to disqualify the driver from operating a CMV in interstate commerce and inform the driver that it is unlawful to operate a CMV while OOS until the condition is remedied.