RALEIGH — More than $48.75 million in federal highway dollars for North Carolina could be in jeopardy after the U.S. Department of Transportation issued news of an audit showing 54% of trucking driver’s licenses in the state given to people from foreign countries were issued illegally.
“North Carolina’s failure to follow the rules isn’t just shameful — it’s dangerous,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean. P. Duffy said in a press release. “I’m calling on state leadership to immediately remove these dangerous drivers from our roads and clean up their system. President (Donald) Trump and I are committed to keeping you and your family safe on our roads.”
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) conducted the audit as part of an ordered ongoing nationwide audit of the state’s truck licensing systems. Several states like California, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, New York, and Texas have been found to be in noncompliance.
The audit was prompted in part by a Trump administration executive order emphasizing roadway safety and follows several high-profile accident cases in 2025 involving illegal immigrants holding nondomiciled commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs).
Key findings from FMSCA’s audit include:
- 19 instances of nondomiciled CDLs issued with validity periods exceeding the expiration of the driver’s lawful presence documents.
- 2 instances of nondomiciled CDLs issued to Mexican citizens not present under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).
- 8 instances of the North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles (NCDMV) issuing nondomiciled commercial learner’s permits (CLPs)/CDLs without evidence of verifying the driver’s lawful presence using required unexpired documents.
The FMCSA issued its preliminary findings of noncompliance on Thursday, outlined in a letter to Gov. Josh Stein and NCDMV Commissioner Paul Tine. The letter detailed findings of “systemic” errors in the state’s issuance of nondomiciled CLPs and CDLs to foreign drivers.
Nondomiciled CDLs and CLPs are for truck drivers who live outside the country but need to drive commercially in the U.S. States can issue them only to people with proven “lawful presence” in the U.S., using valid documents like an unexpired Employment Authorization Document or a foreign passport with an approved I-94 arrival form.
There are rules in place for CDLs and CLPs which say those licenses can’t last longer than the driver’s legal stay in the U.S., and states must verify the documents and follow the same process for testing and issuance as U.S. residents.
Most Canadians and Mexicans can’t get a CDL or CLP because they use their own country’s CDL, but there are exceptions in rare cases such as DACA recipients.
FMCSA’s letter to Stein and Tine requires corrective actions to keep federal highway funds from being withheld, such as an immediate pause on issuance of the CDLs in question and identification of all all unexpired nondomiciled CDLs that fail to comply with federal regulations.
The state must also revoke all noncompliant licenses and reissue them only if the drivers meet federal requirements. Additionally, the state needs to conduct a comprehensive internal audit to address procedural, programming, training, quality assurance, policy and other deficiencies.
A spokesperson for the NCDMV and North Carolina Department of Transportation told North State Journal they are aware of the letter.
“The North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles (NCDMV) is aware of the letter from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) regarding non-domiciled commercial driver licenses,” the spokesperson said in an email to NSJ. “NCDMV is committed to upholding safety and integrity in our licensing processes. We have been collaborating closely with our federal partners for several months to resolve these matters that are impacting many U.S. states.”
Stein’s office did not immediately respond to an inquiry.
