Have you ever wondered “Do you need a CDL to drive a skoolie registered in Florida?”
If you’ve ever wondered “Do you need a CDL to drive a
One of the most common questions I read on forums from new
Florida is the state of sunshine, beaches, and is very RV- and
Do you need a commercial driver’s license to drive a skoolie registered in Florida?
If your
You can find the official statement on the CDL exemption of a recreational vehicle by the Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles below, including a source link to the full article.
Do I need a CDL if my skoolie is partially or fully converted but not yet titled as a motorhome in Florida?
Honestly, this is a little bit of a gray area. If it’s obvious that the school bus can no longer be used to carry passengers (seats are removed), the words “school bus” on the exterior have been covered, removal of flashers on top (if any) and the stop sign arm, you are probably fine though the response not be legally correct. [Read further to see what we did.]
In my research on this topic, I’ve been unable to under a specific legal response to this topic from the state of Florida.
Our personal experience
My husband did not have a CDL to drive our decommissioned school bus from its purchase point in Tennessee to Florida. The school board that we purchased the bus from had spray-painted the name of the school county off.
At no point during the time that we were getting temporary Florida tags on our decommissioned school bus or when we actually updated the title to reflect “motorhome” instead of “bus” on the title were we personally ever asked if we had a CDL to drive it by the two Hillsborough County DMVs we visited. That’s been the common theme during our Florida-specific research on this topic.
Disclaimer: We discuss what we did to feel comfortable driving our decommissioned school bus without a CDL from Tennessee to Florida. Do your own research to gain your own level of comfort over your choices. We are not advising you to do the same.
Speak with the DMV for special cases on driving a non-commercial school bus
School buses aren’t the only things that get converted in Florida so the DMV and Tax Departments probably have some special rules or advisements that aren’t publicly available due to the infrequency of the topic. Certainly, when we spoke with Hillsborough County Tax & DMV management by email, they easily gave us the information that we otherwise found conflicting or just unable online or at the local branches by service desk employees.
As such, I would recommend requesting to contact the tax collector or DMV management on this topic in your Florida county.
Read this blog on how we updated our skoolie title from a “bus” to a “motorhome” and what those easy requirements were.
What if my skoolie weighs over 26,001 pounds and is registered as a motorhome in Florida?
According to the Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles website, you need a non-commercial Class E driver’s license (this is the standard drivers license most drivers have) to operate a motorhome registered in the state of Florida, even if the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) qualifies exceeds 26,001 pounds.
A motorhome is excluded from the Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) requirements, even if the GVWR is exceeded.
Read this blog for tips on how to weigh your
Can I drive my skoolie in Florida without a commercial driver’s license (CDL) if the vehicle is registered in another state?
Yes, if you are driving a school bus conversion motorhome in Florida, you do not need a commercial driver’s license to operate the vehicle.
However, your license and registration should conform to the rules of your DMV in the state that your vehicle is registered, if different than Florida. A special license or CDL may be needed for skoolies registered in other states depending on factors such as air brakes.
If you are not a state of Florida resident and traveling into the state, check out the commonly asked questions by Florida Visitors on the State of Florida DMV website.
Where can I find information on the driver’s license requirements for skoolies in Florida?
Your
How do you register a school bus conversion as a motorhome in Florida?
If you want to know how to register your school bus conversion as a motorhome in Florida, then read this detailed blog.
It quite literally took us 10 minutes and two checkboxes on a piece of paper to register our
Conclusion
In Florida, those that have a school bus conversion titled as a motorhome, you don’t need a CDL to drive your rig.
There is unfortunately a gray area on whether you need a CDL or not in the time that you convert your school bus into a motorhome in Florida. Maybe the correct response is “yes, you need a CDL” even if it is a decommissioned school bus, but I really recommend speaking to DMV and Tax Authority management in your local Florida county for the official response. For us, we didn’t bother getting a CDL.
