Here is a detailed list of companies that hire felons as truck drivers.

Can You Be a Truck Driver with a Felony? Yes, a felon can become a truck driver after clearing all the issues regarding felonies. Some felonies like bribery, death, and smuggling will prevent you for a lifetime from becoming a truck driver. But minor offenses related to traffic violation will not prohibit a felon from becoming a driver.

Can You Be a Truck Driver with a Felony?

In general, there are no specific requirements to be a truck driver. You should have excellence in driving the truck.

For this purpose, you will need training in a driving school. Then license authority conducts both written tests and road tests.

You have to pass both tests to be a qualified truck driver. The DMV department has some restrictions for giving CDL to felons.

What qualifies a felon to be a truck driver?

The qualification required for felons is the same as for others to be truck drivers. Sometimes the rules differ in many states about felons getting qualified for truck driving.

Commonly felonies that are not serious will not prevent you from becoming a driver. A person committing a crime that is not related to vehicle driving will qualify for a truck driving job.

In some states, felonies like not wearing a seatbelt, violating traffic signals, and creating noise pollution with a horn will not prevent you from becoming a driver.

In some states breaking one rule will qualify you for the job but breaking two or more rules will disqualify the felons.

What disqualifies a felon for becoming a truck driver?

Not all felonies will disqualify a person for getting a driving job. But certain serious offenses will prohibit a felon from becoming a driver.

Disqualifications from traffic rule violation
Disqualification due to major offenses
Disqualification from violating out of service orders
Disqualifications due to highway grade offenses

Alcohol consumption during driving

As per law, felonies regarding alcohol and drug consumption while driving will prevent a person from becoming a truck driver.

A person driving under the influence of a controlled substance will be disqualified.

When a person does not present himself for alcohol, he will be declared positive for alcohol and drugs.

Violation of this law will disqualify a person for getting a driving license. The authority will also cancel the license of the commercial driver permanently. So you should not have alcohol in your truck.

Felonies related to an accident case

Leaving an accident case related to the murder of someone will prevent the felons from getting driving licenses and jobs.

Driver involved in such cases should notify the family authority or other concerned person. When a person fails to do it, he will be disqualified and he can be fired from his job.

When the accident causes mild injury, it may not cause felons to disqualify. But any injury or death of human beings will prevent them from driving any heavy vehicle.

Felonies related to traffic violations

Traffic violations like excessive speed using a mobile phone during driving and driving close to another vehicle will prevent the felons from getting driver jobs.

As per law, a person driving at a speed of more than 30km/hr is a violation of the rule.

Improper traffic lane changes

Weaving between the traffic
Passing in lanes where trucks are not allowed
Here is a list of all those faulty lane changes that result in disqualification for driving.
Frequently changing lanes
Failing to signals

Major offenses

Major offenses that will disqualify a person for his entire life are following.

Bribery
Smuggling
Arson
Treason
Killing a person with a truck or another vehicle
Misconduct with a vehicle

Do I need a perfect driving record?

No, you do not have to be a perfect person for truck driving. Regardless of some minor felonies in your past, you can get a job as a driver.

Truck drivers with some serious felonies in their past will find some difficulty in establishing their trust. Some minor misdemeanors will not stop you from becoming a commercial driver.

You can still pursue your career in this field. Felonies like traffic violations might cancel your licenses for some time, but you can reactivate them after completing the period.

You should clear all the previous issues regarding the offenses to get a driving job. You can withdraw your license that is in the hold of the authority after clearing the issues.

After this, follow all the guidelines of state law to avoid any issue in the future.

A person who is disqualified for a lifetime due to some offense can not be a truck driver. But getting two or more felony tickets within six months will not do many issues in being a vehicle driver.

What things matter in becoming a truck driver with a felony?

People with felonies in their previous record need to take care of these things to become a driver.

How much time has passed?

A felon needs to know about the period of disqualification for driving. In most cases, the disqualification is temporary.

A felony attempted more than 2 years ago has less effect than some offense attempted one month ago. You can apply and join any driving company after that time.

For example, in case of a traffic violation, even with one ticket will be disqualified for 3 to 4 months depending on his record.

When the person has two tickets regarding felonies, he will be disqualified for 7 months. In the case of three or more tickets, he will be prohibited from getting a driving job for at least one year.

Number of felonies

It is another factor that a felon should consider before pursuing his career in driving.

Some trucking companies will not hire a person with three or more traffic violations felonies within the period of 2 to 3 years. No matter the person’s license is valid, he will not be able to find a job.

Being honest about the past

You should honestly tell the company and the concerned authority about your past. Never lie about the past felonies when you are applying for a driving job.

A person with vehicle-related offenses should tell all the issues in detail in the application. You should own your mistake to gain the trust of the authority.

Just accept the crime and explain them most appropriately. It will make the companies realize that you have moved on to become a better person.