Driver Licenses

Plain English Breakdown

The bill summary and official text do not provide information on what happens if a driver with one of these medical conditions causes an accident or serious traffic violation.

Changes to Commercial Driver License Medical Requirements

This bill changes Tennessee's rules for commercial driver licenses by allowing people with certain medical conditions to drive commercial vehicles across state lines and transport hazardous materials if they are certified as medically fit.

What This Bill Does

• Removes the rule that prevents drivers from being denied a commercial license or declared medically unfit because of diabetes requiring insulin, if their condition is well-controlled.
• Allows commercial drivers with certain medical conditions to drive in other states and transport hazardous materials if they are certified by a federal-certified doctor listed on a national registry.

Who It Names or Affects

• Commercial drivers with specific medical conditions like diabetes.
• Medical examiners certified by the federal motor carrier safety administration.

Terms To Know

commercial driver license

A special type of driving permit needed to operate large trucks or buses for work purposes.

federal motor carrier safety administration (FMCSA)

The government agency that sets rules and standards for commercial drivers and vehicles in the United States.

Limits and Unknowns

• Only applies to Tennessee's commercial driving regulations, not other states' laws.
• The bill does not provide details on how the certification process works.

Official Summary Text

Present law prohibits a person from being denied a commercial driver license, or being deemed medically unqualified to operate a motor vehicle, based on the failure to meet motor safety carrier regulations because of any of the following medical conditio
ns:



Distant visual acuity, if the person has only one eye but the distant visual acuity meets the requirements of federal law.



A medical history or diagnosis of diabetes mellitus currently requiring insulin, but whose medical history indicates that the insulin controls the diabetes to the extent that it is not likely to cause a loss of ability to control the motor vehicle.



Classification as an American Heart Association Class I or II heart patient.



Implantation of an automated implantable cardiac defibrillator due to a sudden death event or a prophylactic reason.

Present law generally requires persons who obtain a commercial driver license, despite having one of the medical conditions described above, to operate a commercial vehicle only in this state. It also prohibits such drivers from transporting hazardous m
aterials or from operating a common carrier motor vehicle for the transporting of passengers for hire. Persons who fail to meet these requirements may have their commercial driver license suspended. A license may be suspended permanently if a person is
fo
und to have committed a serious traffic violation or reportable accident due to one of the medical conditions described above.

This bill clarifies that persons who hold a commercial driver license and are certified as medically qualified to operate a commercial vehicle are not limited to operating a commercial motor vehicle only in this state. However, the certificate must be i
ssued by a medical examiner certified by the federal motor carrier safety administration and be listed on the national registry of certified medical examiners. Persons who are certified as medically qualified are not prohibited from transporting hazardou
s
materials or from operating a common motor carrier vehicle for the transporting of passengers for hire. Such persons are not subject to a suspension of their license if they have committed a serious traffic violation or reportable accident due to the medi
cal conditions described above.

ON FEBRUARY 23, 2026, THE HOUSE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1 AND PASSED HOUSE BILL 1546, AS AMENDED.

AMENDMENT #1 rewrites the bill to, instead, delete present law that prohibits a
person from being denied a commercial driver license, or being deemed medically unqualified to operate a motor vehicle, based on the failure to meet motor safety carrier regulations because o
f a medical history or clinical diagnosis of diabetes mellitus currently requiring insulin,
but whose medical history indicates that the insulin controls the diabetes to the extent that the condition is not likely to cause any loss of abili
ty to control a motor vehicle
.

Current Bill Text

HOUSE BILL 1546
By McCalmon

SENATE BILL 1669
By Powers
SB1669
010863
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 55,
Chapter 50, Part 4, relative to commercial driver
license qualifications.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 55-50-411, is amended by adding
the following as a new subsection (e):
Subsections (b) and (c) shall not apply to a person who holds a commercial
driver license and is certified as medically qualified to operate a commercial motor
vehicle pursuant to 49 CFR 391.43 if that certificate is issued by a medical examiner
certified by the federal motor carrier safety administration and listed on the national
registry of certified medical examiners in accordance with 49 CFR Part 390, Subpart D.
SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon becoming a law, the public welfare requiring it.