In a striking development that raises significant concerns over transportation safety, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced Thursday that more than half of North Carolina’s commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs) issued to foreign nationals were granted illegally. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) ongoing nationwide audit found that 54% of the state’s non-domiciled CDLs reviewed by federal officials failed to meet legal requirements.

The implications are severe for North Carolina, which now faces the potential loss of nearly $50 million in federal transportation funding if it fails to revoke these improperly issued licenses.

“North Carolina’s failure to follow the rules isn’t just shameful — it’s dangerous,” Duffy said in a statement. “I’m calling on state leadership to immediately remove these dangerous drivers from our roads and clean up their system.”

In a formal letter to North Carolina Governor Josh Stein and state Department of Public Safety Commissioner Paul Tine, the FMCSA detailed several critical violations. The agency found that North Carolina had illegally issued non-domiciled CDLs to ineligible drivers, allowed licenses to remain valid long after the holders’ legal status in the U.S. had expired, and failed to verify the lawful immigration status of many CDL recipients.

FMCSA Administrator Derek Barrs described North Carolina’s level of noncompliance as “egregious,” highlighting the severity of the situation in the commercial transportation sector.

To retain its federal funding, North Carolina must now take immediate corrective actions. These include pausing the issuance of all non-domiciled CDLs, identifying every unexpired non-domiciled CDL that fails to comply with federal regulations, and revoking all noncompliant licenses. The state may reissue licenses only to those who meet federal requirements.

Additionally, North Carolina must conduct a comprehensive internal audit to identify all procedural and programming errors, training deficiencies, quality assurance problems, insufficient policies, and other issues that led to the issuance of non-compliant CDLs.

The CDL controversy has become a focal point for the Trump administration since early 2025, following a tragic incident on Florida’s turnpike where an Indian national with a California-issued CDL allegedly caused a fatal accident that killed multiple people. This incident prompted broader scrutiny of state CDL issuance practices nationwide.

California has already taken corrective action by revoking 17,000 problematic non-domiciled CDL licenses as part of the Department of Transportation’s nationwide audit. This audit was initiated following President Donald Trump’s executive order on truck driver roadway safety.

The trucking industry forms a critical component of America’s infrastructure and supply chain, with commercial drivers responsible for transporting goods across the country. Ensuring these drivers are properly licensed and legally permitted to operate in the United States has significant implications for public safety on highways.

Industry experts note that commercial trucks, due to their size and weight, pose particularly severe risks in accidents. The scrutiny of CDL issuance practices comes amid growing concerns about roadway safety and increased attention to immigration enforcement policies under the current administration.

The FMCSA’s action against North Carolina represents one of the most significant federal interventions in state transportation licensing in recent years. It underscores the Biden administration’s commitment to enforcing federal transportation safety standards and ensuring that state licensing practices comply with federal law.

State officials in North Carolina have not yet publicly responded to the federal findings or outlined their plan to address the violations identified in the FMCSA’s review. The timeline for compliance remains uncertain, though the potential loss of $50 million in federal funding creates significant pressure for swift action.