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7.2 Passenger Class Restrictions and Other CDL Codes

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CDL Passenger Endorsement P

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1 Introduction & Exam Overview

1.1 Current Exam Facts 1.2 Knowledge Test, Skills Test, and ELDT 1.3 Passenger vs School Bus Endorsements

2 Vehicle Inspection

2.1 Vehicle Systems and the Previous Driver's Report 2.2 Access Doors, Panels, and Bus Interior 2.3 Roof Hatches, Emergency Equipment, and Seat Belts

3 Loading and Trip Start

3.1 Baggage, Aisles, and the Standee Line 3.2 Hazardous Materials on Passenger Buses 3.3 Stops, Discharge, and Destination Procedures

4 On the Road

4.1 Passenger Supervision and Unruly Riders 4.2 Common Accidents and Speed on Curves 4.3 Railroad-Highway Grade Crossings 4.4 Drawbridges

5 Emergencies and Passenger Safety

5.1 Emergency Exits and Push-Out Windows 5.2 Fires, Evacuation, and Post-Crash Procedures 5.3 Passenger Safety Briefing and ADA Duties

6 Braking, Prohibited Practices, and After-Trip Inspection

6.1 Proper Braking and Brake-Door Interlocks 6.2 Prohibited Practices 6.3 After-Trip Vehicle Inspection

7 Skills Test and License Restrictions

7.1 Passenger Vehicle Skills Test 7.2 Passenger Class Restrictions and Other CDL Codes

7.2 Passenger Class Restrictions and Other CDL Codes

Key Takeaways Explain This Topic AI

Restriction M: a Class A CDL holder who obtains P or S in a Class B vehicle may operate only Class B and C passenger vehicles or school buses.

Restriction N: a Class B CDL holder who obtains P or S in a Class C vehicle may operate only Class C passenger vehicles or school buses — and restriction N is not endorsement N (tank).

L bars any air-brake CMV if the applicant fails the air-brake knowledge test or takes the skills test in a vehicle not equipped with air brakes (full or partial); Z is the air-over-hydraulic skills-test outcome that bars full air brakes.

E (automatic skills test), O (pintle/non-fifth-wheel Class A skills test), and V (medical variance on CDLIS) also follow the test vehicle or the medical record.

School bus S still requires P first under 49 CFR 383.123, and M/N apply to S skills vehicles the same way; a CLP-P still cannot carry the public except the 383.25 exceptions.

Last updated: August 2026

7.2 Passenger Class Restrictions and Other CDL Codes

Quick answer: Restrictions are earned on skills-test day by the vehicle you bring . A Class A driver who takes P or S in a Class B bus gets M (Class B and C passenger vehicles or school buses only). A Class B driver who takes P or S in a Class C vehicle gets N (Class C passenger vehicles or school buses only). Restriction N is not endorsement N (tank). L bars any air-brake CMV after a failed air-brake knowledge test or a skills test in a vehicle without air brakes . Z follows an air-over-hydraulic skills test and bars full air-brake CMVs. E , O , and V can attach from the same test or from medical records.

The CDL class on your license and the passenger vehicles you may drive are not the same list . Class A authorizes combination freight vehicles; it does not automatically authorize a Class A passenger vehicle. P and S are layered on top, and 49 CFR 383.95 tells the State which restriction codes to print when the skills-test bus is smaller than the CDL class or when brake, transmission, or coupling equipment differs from the fleet you want. FMCSA's Drivers page restates those codes in Class A/B/C language and applies M and N to school-bus skills vehicles the same way; where that page's air-brake shorthand collides with the regulation, 383.95 controls .

Choosing the skills-test vehicle is a career decision . A Class C shuttle skills test will not authorize a Class B transit bus even if the CDL class is B, because of N . A Class B coach test on a Class A license produces M . Employers who run 40-foot air-brake coaches will not accept a Class C P with N, and they may also reject L , Z , or E depending on the fleet.

M: Class A license, Class B passenger or school-bus test

If a driver possesses a Class A CDL but obtains the passenger or school bus endorsement in a Class B vehicle, the State must place an M restriction: the driver may operate only Class B and C passenger vehicles or school buses .

49 CFR 383.95(e) says the same in group language: a passenger skills test in a passenger vehicle requiring a Group B CDL restricts the person from operating a passenger vehicle requiring a Group A CDL. On the document, 49 CFR 383.153 codes this as M — No Class A passenger vehicle .

M does not take away Class A freight combinations. It takes away Class A passenger operation (and Class A school-bus operation when S was tested that way). You can still pull a fifth-wheel trailer if you have no O restriction. You cannot take an articulated passenger combination that is Group A.

N: Class B license, Class C passenger or school-bus test

If a driver possesses a Class B CDL but obtains the passenger or school bus endorsement in a Class C vehicle, the State must place an N restriction: the driver may operate only Class C passenger vehicles or school buses .

49 CFR 383.95(f) : a passenger skills test in a vehicle requiring a Group C CDL restricts the person from passenger vehicles requiring a Group A or B CDL. 49 CFR 383.153 codes this as N — No Class A and Class B passenger vehicle .

This is the shuttle-versus-transit trap. Class B on the CDL lets you drive a Class B box truck . It does not let you drive a Class B bus if your P skills test was in a Class C van and N is on the license.

Restriction N versus endorsement N

  • Code What it is How you get it What it controls
  • Endorsement N Tank vehicle Knowledge test (49 CFR 383.119) Qualifying cargo tanks

Restriction N No Class A and B passenger vehicle P or S skills test in a Class C passenger vehicle or school bus Which buses you may operate

Same letter, opposite functions: one adds tank authority; the other subtracts large-bus passenger authority. Exam items love this collision. Read the word restriction or endorsement before you pick N.

School bus (S): P first, same M/N logic

49 CFR 383.123(a)(1) requires an applicant for S to qualify for the passenger endorsement — pass the P knowledge and skills tests — then pass S knowledge and take the S skills test in a school bus of the same vehicle group the applicant will drive. FMCSA applies M and N to school bus skills vehicles the same way as passenger: Class A CDL plus a Class B school-bus test yields M ; Class B CDL plus a Class C school-bus test yields N . A yellow paint job does not erase those codes. The skills-test vehicle group controls.

L, Z, E, O, and V

These codes come from 49 CFR 383.95 and the letter table in 49 CFR 383.153 . They are not passenger-only, but they attach to the passenger skills-test vehicle just as they would to a truck.

L — No air-brake-equipped CMV. Under 49 CFR 383.95(a) , the State must add L if the applicant fails the air brake component of the knowledge test , or performs the skills test in a vehicle not equipped with air brakes . For the skills test and this restriction, air brakes include any braking system operating fully or partially on the air brake principle. L means you may not operate a CMV equipped with any type of air brakes .

Do not rewrite that trigger as missing a full air brake skills-test vehicle. A bus with air-over-hydraulic brakes is equipped with air brakes (partially). Testing in that vehicle does not create L under 383.95(a). It creates Z under 383.95(b).

The FMCSA Drivers page summary is the usual source of that mix-up. It says L is added if the driver does not take the skills test in a vehicle with a full air brake system, and it even labels L as a no-full-air-brake restriction. That wording collides with Z , whose official 383.153 shorthand is No Full air brake equipped CMV . Use the Drivers page for M , N , E , O , and V in Class A/B/C language; for air brakes, return to 383.95 .

Z — No full-air-brake-equipped CMV. If the skills test is in a vehicle with air-over-hydraulic brakes, 49 CFR 383.95(b) requires Z . Air-over-hydraulic is partly air and partly hydraulic. Z bars CMVs whose brakes operate fully on the air brake principle. Many transit buses and motorcoaches are full-air. Z is not a substitute for passing air-brake knowledge; it is a vehicle-equipment outcome.

E — No manual-transmission-equipped CMV. Skills test in an automatic transmission. Automatic, for this restriction, is any transmission that is not a manual as defined in 49 CFR 383.5 . An automatic-only coach test will not authorize a manual-shift assignment later without another skills test.

O — No tractor-trailer CMV. Class A skills test with a pintle hook or other non-fifth-wheel connection. O bars fifth-wheel tractor-trailer combinations that require Group A. A driver can hold O and M together: pintle-hook Class A plus Class B bus P.

V — Medical variance. 49 CFR 383.95(g) requires the State, once notified that the driver has a medical variance, to show V on the CDL and on the CDLIS record so there is information about that variance — for example vision, hearing, diabetes, or a skill performance evaluation under 49 CFR Part 391. V is not earned by vehicle choice; it flags a medical document that officers and employers must be able to find on CDLIS.

  • Code Official shorthand Typical passenger-job consequence
  • M No Class A passenger vehicle Class B and C passenger vehicles or school buses only
  • N No Class A and B passenger vehicle Class C passenger vehicles or school buses only
  • L No air-brake-equipped CMV Cannot operate full-air or partial-air buses
  • Z No full-air-brake-equipped CMV Air-over-hydraulic only, not full-air coaches
  • E No manual-transmission-equipped CMV Automatic buses only
  • O No tractor-trailer CMV Limits Class A fifth-wheel freight combinations; does not rewrite P
  • V Medical variance on CDLIS Variance paperwork must remain valid

L versus Z is the other letter trap. Failing the air-brake knowledge test, or testing in a bus not equipped with air brakes , yields L : you cannot drive air-brake CMVs at all, including systems that are only partly air. Testing in a bus with air-over-hydraulic yields Z : you can drive that hybrid system, but not a full air-brake coach. If the job is a full-air transit bus, pass the air-brake knowledge test and take the skills test in a full air-brake passenger vehicle.

CLP-P still bars the public

Restrictions describe the CDL you will receive. They do not lift 49 CFR 383.25 . A CLP-P holder still cannot carry passengers except Federal/State auditors and inspectors, test examiners, other trainees, and the accompanying CDL holder. Passing knowledge, finishing ELDT, and holding Class A or B for freight does not create passenger authority.

After you pass the skills test, read the restriction line before you accept a route. If the job is a Class B air-brake transit bus, you need P tested in a Class B passenger vehicle with the brake and transmission type that fleet uses, or you will spend a second skills-test day removing N , M , L , Z , or E .

Book the skills-test vehicle against the job, not against whatever bus is easiest to borrow:

Match the passenger group (A, B, or C) to the bus you will be paid to drive, or M / N will lock you out.

Match air brakes to 383.95 : pass the air-brake knowledge test, and test in a vehicle that actually has air brakes. Hydraulic-only (no air) produces L . Air-over-hydraulic produces Z and still bars full-air coaches. Full-air skills tests keep L and Z off if knowledge is passed.

Match transmission : manual if the assignment is manual, or E will bar it.

If you also need Class A fifth-wheel freight work, do not take the Class A skills test on a pintle hook ( O ).

Until the CDL with P is issued, CLP-P still cannot carry the public except the 383.25 list.