This CDL cheat sheet distills the FMCSA General Knowledge test into a printable rundown of the numbers and rules examiners lean on most. It's a premium cheat sheet built by Capital Prep — the one premium prep we trust — and it's yours free. Reinforce it with the rest of your free CDL toolkit: the practice test, study guide, and flashcards.
CDL exam at a glance
- Questions: About 50 multiple-choice (General Knowledge)
- Regulated by: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) / AAMVA
- Passing score: 80% (49 CFR § 383.135) — miss no more than 10 of 50
- Standardization: Federal knowledge standards — same in all 50 states
- Cost: Set by each state DMV (varies); ELDT required for a first Class A or B
What’s on the CDL cheat sheet
- Safe Vehicle Control & Driving (≈30 Qs) — the largest area — stopping distance, speed and space management, braking, skid control, hazard perception, inspection, and emergencies.
- Licensing, Rules & Disqualification (≈13 Qs) — CDL classes A/B/C, endorsements, the Commercial Learner's Permit, and out-of-service and disqualification penalties.
- Cargo, Weight & Securement (≈7 Qs) — tiedown counts, weight limits and balance, and the federal cargo inspection schedule.
How to use it in your final week
- Burn the stopping-distance numbers into memory — at 55 mph a loaded heavy vehicle needs over 400 feet to stop, and braking distance grows with the square of speed.
- Front-load Safe Vehicle Control & Driving — it's roughly 30 of the 50 questions, so mastering this one area from the sheet moves your score the most.
- Review the cargo rules on the sheet: at least one tiedown per 10 feet of cargo, inspect within the first 50 miles, then re-check every 150 miles or 3 hours.
- Skim the whole sheet the morning of the test for a last pass on the memory hooks — the 80 percent pass mark, following-distance rule, and disqualification penalties.
The cheat sheet is your review layer — your CDL practice test drives the exam-readiness ring at the top of this page. Download it, review, then take a full practice exam (or drill with the study guide and flashcards) to see where you stand.
CDL cheat sheet FAQ
Yes — the CDL cheat sheet is 100% free — enter your email and we'll send the PDF straight to your inbox. It sits alongside Career Employer's free CDL practice test, study guide, and flashcards, so your whole General Knowledge prep stack costs nothing.
It condenses the highest-yield FMCSA General Knowledge facts into a fast reference: stopping-distance and space-management numbers, brake systems and brake fade, cargo tiedown and inspection rules, and the licensing and disqualification rules — grouped by the three topic areas the test weights most heavily.
Yes. The General Knowledge standards are set federally by FMCSA under 49 CFR Part 383 and coordinated through AAMVA, so the core content is identical whether you test in California, Texas, or New York. Only minor state-specific items, fees, and scheduling differ, so confirm those with your state DMV.
No — the sheet is a review and final-week cram layer, not a full course. You still need to work practice questions and read the AAMVA CDL Manual, then use the sheet to lock in the numbers you tend to forget, because the federal pass mark is a firm 80 percent.
Click the download button or the preview card at the top of this page, enter your email, and we'll send your cheat sheet straight to your inbox — read it online or download the PDF. Bookmark the page so you can pull it up again the morning of your General Knowledge test.
References
- 1.Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. “Commercial Driver's License Program.” FMCSA.dot.gov, 2026. ↑
- 2.Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. “Required Knowledge and Skills (49 CFR § 383.111).” FMCSA.dot.gov. ↑
- 3.Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute. “49 CFR § 383.135 — Minimum passing scores.” law.cornell.edu. ↑
- 4.Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. “Entry-Level Driver Training (ELDT).” FMCSA.dot.gov. ↑
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