New York Gov. Kathy Hochul on Wednesday announced the state’s participation in a federal program that allows active-duty military and veterans to use their service experience to obtain commercial driver licenses.
Under the U.S. Department of Transportation’s “Even Exchange” program, qualified applicants who learned to drive heavy machinery during their military service can bypass the Department of Motor Vehicles written permit test. The governor’s office said the initiative aims to help military members transition to civilian careers while addressing a need for qualified commercial drivers to move goods across the state and country.
Hochul said the program gives back to those who protected the country and helps ensure New York has the drivers necessary to provide residents with access to goods and services.
New York State Department of Motor Vehicles Acting Commissioner Christian Jackstadt said the agency is pleased to offer the program to help military members transition smoothly into well-paying jobs driving buses and trucks. Jackstadt said the program leverages valuable skills veterans have already developed during their service.
New York State Department of Veterans’ Services Commissioner Dr. Viviana M. DeCohen said the program creates a more direct pathway from military service to civilian employment, reducing unnecessary obstacles for transitioning service members.
The Even Exchange program will work alongside the state’s existing Military Skills Test Waiver Program. That program waives the road skills test for military personnel who are currently licensed or were employed operating military equivalents of commercial vehicles within the past two years. Nationwide, more than 40,000 people have used the road test waiver since its inception, including more than 3,100 New Yorkers, the governor’s office said.
The announcement comes the same day Hochul signed six bills expanding benefits and reducing administrative barriers for veterans in the state.