The Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General has issued a management advisory recommending additional measures to strengthen controls over the process for obtaining a commercial driver’s license.

“We are concerned that vulnerabilities exist within the current CDL program which allow persons to obtain a license without being legally present in the United States,” DOT said. “In a 2002 audit, we recommended that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration require that all CDL applicants demonstrate U.S. citizenship or legal presence.”

The FMCSA agreed, and the proposed rule is scheduled for May 2005.

“We recommend that FMCSA, at a minimum, require all CDL applications to demonstrate that they are either a U.S. citizen, a permanent legal resident or otherwise legally present in the United States,” DOT said.