Which States Require a Chauffeur License in 2027: The Paid Driver License Rule in All 50 States and DC

A chauffeur license is a state license for people paid to drive others in a vehicle that needs no commercial driver’s license. Some states call it a chauffeur license, others a for-hire endorsement, a Class E, or a public passenger endorsement. On licenses, federal Medicaid law asks only that each NEMT driver hold a valid one, and CMS’s transportation guide (September 28, 2023) says drivers need the right, current license for the vehicles they drive and that states may require a chauffeur’s license for taxis and vans. So the answer depends on your state, and sometimes on the vehicle.

Chauffeur and for-hire license rules in all 50 states and DC

As of October 2026, 14 states issue a separate license or endorsement for paid passenger drivers below the CDL line, and most of them reach a NEMT van driver. Georgia’s covers only limousine, taxi, and ride-share drivers, and Indiana’s reaches a NEMT driver only if the state reads your van as something other than a medical services vehicle. Look across your state’s row: the middle column names the license, and the last column says whether it applies to a driver of a sedan, minivan, or wheelchair van that needs no CDL.

State	License for paid passenger driving	Applies to a NEMT van driver?
Alabama	None. Class D covers private passenger vehicles	No
Alaska	None statewide. Class D covers vehicles that are not commercial or motorcycles	Ask your city or borough
Arizona	None. Class D covers any vehicle that needs no CDL	No
Arkansas	P endorsement on a Class D to carry passengers for hire, from age 18	Yes by statute, but see below
California	No chauffeur class. A CDL with a passenger endorsement for paid vehicles built or used for more than 10, driver included	Yes, at 11 or more people
Colorado	None. The regular license covers vehicles under the CDL line	No
Connecticut	F public passenger endorsement for livery vehicles and service buses	Yes
Delaware	Z taxicab and limousine endorsement	Yes. Medical transport vehicles operate as limousines
District of Columbia	No DMV class. The Department of For-Hire Vehicles licenses taxicab and limousine drivers	Only if DFHV treats your vans as taxis or limousines
Florida	None. Class E covers vans built for 15, driver included	Only where a county licenses drivers
Georgia	For-hire endorsement on the license, or an employer background check, for limousine, taxi, and ride-share drivers	Only if your company is a certified limousine or taxi carrier
Hawaii	None. Category 3 covers buses built for 15 or fewer and vans up to 18,000 pounds	No
Idaho	None. Class D covers non-commercial vehicles	No
Illinois	None. Paid drivers must be 18, or 21 with a year of driving in vehicles built for more than 10	Only where a city licenses drivers
Indiana	For-hire endorsement for vehicles built for fewer than 16, driver included	Unclear. Medical services vehicles are not for hire
Iowa	Class D chauffeur license for anyone paid to drive people, except ride-share and small taxi drivers	Yes
Kansas	None. Class C covers non-commercial vehicles	No
Kentucky	None. Class D is the basic operator’s license	No
Louisiana	Class D chauffeur’s license for vehicles carrying passengers for hire	Yes, and Medicaid requires it or a CDL
Maine	None. Class C covers vehicles below the CDL classes	No
Maryland	No MVA class. Public Service Commission for-hire driver’s license	Yes, for drivers of PSC carriers
Massachusetts	None. Class D covers passenger vehicles, vans, and small trucks	No
Michigan	Chauffeur license for motor carriers of passengers and bus drivers	Yes, in vehicles seating 9 or more
Minnesota	None. Class D covers vehicles of 26,000 pounds or less	No
Mississippi	Class D light commercial license for up to 15 passengers	Yes
Missouri	Class E for-hire license for paid drivers carrying 14 or fewer	Yes, except taxi and rideshare drivers in vehicles of 12,000 pounds or less
Montana	None. Class D covers non-commercial vehicles	No
Nebraska	None. Class O covers non-commercial vehicles	No
Nevada	None. The Transportation Authority permits drivers of the carriers it certifies	Ask the Authority. Carriers under a Nevada Health Authority contract are exempt from its certificate
New Hampshire	None. The Class D operator license covers vehicles of 26,000 pounds or less	No
New Jersey	No chauffeur class. The MVC lists for-hire vehicles built for 8 to 15 under CDL Class C	Yes, for vans built for 8 or more
New Mexico	None. Class D covers vehicles under 26,001 pounds	No
New York	Class E for taxi and livery drivers carrying up to 14 riders	Yes. Ambulettes run under NYSDOT authority need a CDL
North Carolina	None. The regular Class C covers non-commercial vehicles	No
North Dakota	None. Class D covers non-commercial vehicles	No
Ohio	None. Class D covers non-commercial vehicles	No
Oklahoma	None. Class D covers non-commercial vehicles	No
Oregon	None. Class C covers non-commercial vehicles	No
Pennsylvania	None. Class C covers non-commercial vehicles	No
Rhode Island	Chauffeur license or CDL, plus a utility division Blue Card, from age 21	Yes, under the 2024 NEMT law
South Carolina	None. Cities and counties may license taxi and bus drivers	Only where local law requires it
South Dakota	None. A CDL starts at vehicles built for 16 or more, driver included	No
Tennessee	F for-hire endorsement on a Class D	Yes
Texas	None. Class C covers vehicles that need no CDL	Only where a city licenses drivers
Utah	None. Class D covers non-commercial vehicles	No
Vermont	None. The standard license covers non-commercial vehicles	No
Virginia	None. The state issues a regular license, a CDL, and school bus and motorcycle licenses	No
Washington	No driver class. The for-hire license is an endorsement on the business license	No state license for drivers
West Virginia	Class D for drivers whose main job is carrying people or property for pay	Yes, unless the vehicle is registered in Class A and under 8,001 pounds
Wisconsin	None. Class D covers cars and light trucks	No
Wyoming	None. Class C covers non-commercial vehicles	No

A “None” means the state has no separate license, not that nothing applies. Cities and counties can still license drivers. Chicago requires a city chauffeur license or a CDL for medicar drivers, Dallas issues transportation for hire driver permits, and several Florida counties license wheelchair and stretcher companies, with Miami-Dade registering their drivers as chauffeurs (see the Florida NEMT license guide). South Carolina’s licensing law says outright that local boards may require extra licenses for taxi, bus, and other public conveyance drivers (S.C. Code 56-1-20). In Washington, the Department of Licensing’s for-hire license is an endorsement on the business license, not a license for each driver, and your local jurisdiction signs the application; the WA Cares transportation provider guide covers that credential.

Five rows need a closer read:

• Arkansas. A Class D license is not valid to carry passengers for hire without a P endorsement, which the state issues from age 18 (Act 241 of 1989, now Ark. Code 27-23-111). The state’s own endorsement chart describes P as authorizing up to 15 passengers, driver included, for non-commercial purposes, which does not match the statute’s for-hire wording. Ask Driver Services in writing whether your paid drivers need it.
• Delaware. Its public carrier regulations say medical transport vehicles, built or used for 15 or fewer people, operate as limousines, and state law requires every limousine driver to hold the Z endorsement (21 Del. C. 2761). See the Delaware NEMT guide.
• Georgia. The Department of Driver Services issues the for-hire endorsement to drivers employed by a limousine company, taxi service, or ride-share network that holds a Class B Carrier Certificate from the Department of Public Safety. It is optional: the employer’s own background check certification, valid for 5 years, works instead. Anyone driving for a limousine company, in a sedan or a van, needs one or the other. Whether your NEMT vans count as a limousine or taxi operation is a question for the Department of Public Safety, which regulates those carriers.
• Indiana. The BMV’s $19 for-hire endorsement covers vehicles built for fewer than 16 people that carry passengers for hire. The BMV also lists operating a medical services vehicle as not transporting for hire, and Indiana Code 9-13-2-100 defines one to include a vehicle routinely used to carry patients who are not acutely ill or injured. Ask the BMV in writing whether your vans count, and see the Indiana NEMT guide.
• Michigan. The chauffeur license follows the vehicle. Drivers of vehicles that seat 9 or more, driver included, need it, while limousine and taxicab drivers are excluded. The Michigan chauffeur license guide sorts a fleet vehicle by vehicle.

What each state’s license takes and costs

Most of these licenses take a written test and a vision screening at the licensing office, with no road test for a driver who already holds a regular license. Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, and Rhode Island add a criminal background check, and Connecticut also requires a physical. These are the steps and fees as of October 2026:

State	What the driver does	Fee
Connecticut	Physical within 90 days to the federal driver standard, fingerprints, a background check, and a DMV video on serving riders with disabilities	$88.25 fingerprint processing, then $12 a year on the license plus a $30 change fee
Delaware	Age 18 with a year of driving, a state and federal background check, the Class D knowledge test, and an accident prevention course within 30 days	$10, and $10 to renew
Georgia	An online application, a letter from a limousine, taxi, or ride-share company that holds a state carrier certificate, and fingerprints	$15 application fee, nonrefundable
Indiana	Age 18, licensed more than a year, a vision screening, and the for-hire knowledge test	$19, charged once
Louisiana	A vision test and the chauffeur knowledge test, 80 percent to pass, with no road test for a Class E holder	$54.75, or $66 in New Orleans, plus a local fee of up to $6
Michigan	A written test at a Secretary of State office	$35
Mississippi	The Class D written test, with no road test or medical card	$29 for 4 years or $57 for 8
Missouri	A written test that includes commercial vehicle rules, plus vision and road sign tests	$24 for 3 years or $48 for 6
Tennessee	Age 18, 2 years of unrestricted driving, a vision screening, and the for-hire knowledge test	$4.50

Iowa asks no knowledge or driving test of a driver who already holds a valid Iowa license, only a vision screening and a clear driving record for the previous two years. Rhode Island’s Blue Card asks for a driving record and a state criminal record from the Attorney General’s Bureau of Criminal Identification, each dated within 30 days. New York’s Class E fee depends on when the driver’s current license expires.

Each state has its own guide with the step-by-step: Connecticut, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, New York, Tennessee, and Maryland’s PSC license.

Your duty as the employer

The license sits on the driver’s card, but the risk sits with you. Indiana makes it explicit: an employer may not employ anyone to drive in a way that needs the for-hire endorsement unless that person holds the endorsement, a valid CDL, or an unexpired chauffeur’s or public passenger chauffeur’s license from before 2017 (Indiana Code 9-24-8.5-7).

Medicaid programs check it too. Louisiana Medicaid requires every NEMT driver to hold a Class D or a CDL, and Tennessee’s managed care contract asks for a Class D with the F endorsement or a CDL. Connecticut makes driving without the endorsement an infraction, and a crash with an unlicensed driver at the wheel invites a negligent entrustment claim against your company.

Put the license class and endorsement in each driver’s file next to the expiration date, and check it again at every renewal. The driver qualification file checklist has a line for it, and NEMT driver requirements covers the age, record, and training rules that sit on top of it.

Drivers who live in another state

Border-area companies often hire drivers licensed next door, and the states treat them differently:

• Tennessee. A nonresident may drive with a valid license from the home state that is equivalent to the Tennessee class, and TennCare accepts the equivalent license from the driver’s state of residence.
• Connecticut. A nonresident may drive a vehicle that needs the public passenger endorsement if the home state issued the equivalent endorsement.
• Delaware. Out-of-state taxi and limousine drivers must meet their home state’s requirements and Delaware’s own qualifications. Their employer keeps a current copy of the home-state driving record, reviews it every year, and keeps their criminal background check on file (21 Del. C. 2765).

The hard case is a driver from a state with no chauffeur class at all, such as Alabama or Kentucky, crossing into a state that has one. There is no equivalent endorsement to show. Ask the licensing office of the state where the trips happen, in writing, before that driver takes a ride there. A driver who moves to your state must switch to a local license within that state’s deadline, and then the local paid driver rule applies in full.

How a chauffeur license differs from a CDL

A CDL follows federal rules and starts at a vehicle designed for 16 or more people, driver included, or rated at 26,001 pounds or more (49 CFR 383.5). A chauffeur or for-hire license is a state class for paid driving below those lines. It usually needs no medical card: Mississippi says its Class D needs no medical card or passenger endorsement. Connecticut is the exception, with a physical to the federal driver standard.

In several states a CDL stands in for the chauffeur license. Iowa’s law says a CDL holder needs no separate Class D to drive as a chauffeur. Indiana counts a valid CDL, Tennessee treats a CDL as valid for Class D vehicles, West Virginia counts Class A, B, and C licenses as chauffeur’s licenses, and Rhode Island’s Blue Card accepts a CDL in place of the chauffeur license. Connecticut, Delaware, and Georgia still ask for their own endorsement or background check.

Two states move the CDL line lower for paid vans:

• California. A vehicle designed, used, or maintained for more than 10 people, driver included, that carries riders for pay is a bus, and its driver needs a CDL with the passenger endorsement (Vehicle Code 233, 15210, and 15278).
• New Jersey. The MVC’s CDL page lists any vehicle used for hire and designed for 8 to 15 people, driver included, in CDL Class C. The statute it rests on, N.J.S.A. 39:3-10.11, describes such vehicles carrying people for hire daily to and from places of employment. Assembly Bill A4920, introduced May 7, 2026, would remove the 8 to 15 rule. Until the MVC tells you otherwise in writing, staff a van built for 8 or more with a CDL driver. Sedans and livery vans also need the MVC’s limousine driver approval; see the New Jersey livery license guide.

New York goes further for ambulettes run under NYSDOT authority, whose drivers need a CDL with the passenger endorsement at any size. The full CDL picture, including how to count seats on a converted van, is in do NEMT drivers need a CDL.

How to check your state before you hire

1. Find your state’s row in the table above, and read the linked state guide if there is one.
2. Check your vehicle against the line. Count seats by the original design, driver included, and read the weight rating on the door pillar label.
3. Ask your city or county whether it licenses drivers, even where the state does not.
4. Ask each broker which licenses it accepts. Many write the state rule into the provider manual, and some ask for more.
5. Record the license class, endorsement, and expiration in each driver file, and set a reminder 60 days before each one expires.