Excepted or Non-excepted driving

Once you have determined whether you drive in Interstate commerce or Intrastate commerce, you must decide whether you drive (or expect to drive) in a Non-Excepted or Excepted status.

Excepted (EI or EA) commerce is when you drive a CMV only for the following activities:

  • to transport school children and/or school staff between home and school, or
  • as a federal, state or local government employee, or
  • to transport human corpses or sick or injured persons, or
  • driving a fire truck or rescue vehicle during emergencies and other related activities, or
  • primarily in the transportation of propane winter heating fuel in response to an emergency condition that requires an immediate response, such as damage to a propane gas system after a storm or flood, or
  • in response to a pipeline emergency condition that requires an immediate response, such as a pipeline leak or rupture, or
  • in custom harvesting on a farm, or
    • to transport farm machinery and supplies used in a custom harvesting operation to and from a farm, or
    • to transport custom harvested crops to storage or market.
  • as a beekeeper in the seasonal transportation of bees, or
  • driving a vehicle that is controlled and operated by a farmer, and
    • the vehicle is used to transport agricultural products, farm machinery or farm supplies to and from a farm and within 150 air-miles of the farm, and
    • the vehicle is not a combination vehicle (power unit and towed unit), and
    • the vehicle does not carry any hazardous materials that are required to be placarded.
  • as a private motor carrier of passengers for non-business purposes, or
  • to transport migrant workers (CDL holder must be age 21 or older), or
  • you obtained your NYS CDL prior to September 9, 1999 and perform "Non-Excepted" commercial operation (except when transporting hazardous materials) in NYS only. If this applies to you, you must certify to Excepted Intrastate (EA).

If you drive in one of the activities above, and it is the only operation in which you drive, you operate in Excepted commerce and you are exempt from the requirement to obtain a USDOT Medical Examiner's Certificate.

Non-Excepted commerce (NI or NA) is when you drive for any purpose other than activities listed under "Excepted" above. You are required to provide a current USDOT Medical Examiner's Certificate.

Note: If you operate in both Excepted commerce and Non-Excepted commerce, you must choose Non-Excepted to be qualified to operate in both types of commerce.

 

See medical certification requirements for more information.