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ELDT Theory Test Questions: Entry Level Driver Training Theory Assessment Quiz Generator

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The short answer

Entry level driver training is the rare federal training mandate that requires a written test and names the passing score. 49 CFR 380.715(a) says training providers must use written assessments to determine driver-trainees' proficiency in the knowledge objectives in the theory portion of each unit of instruction, and that the driver-trainee must receive an overall minimum score of 80 percent on the theory assessment. There is no minimum hour requirement for theory instruction at all, so the assessment, not seat time, is what evidences that the curriculum was covered. 380.725(b)(5) then makes records of individual assessments a retained record for at least three years, and 380.719(a)(6) says that documentation has to reach FMCSA within 48 hours of a request. Upload the lesson plans you teach from and the questions come from your own units.

Last updated July 2026. Regulatory text quoted from 49 CFR part 380 subparts F and G and Appendix A as published in the Electronic Code of Federal Regulations. This page is general information, not legal or compliance advice.

What Part 380 actually requires of a training provider

Most compliance training rules stop at a verb like inform, instruct or apprise, and leave you to guess what proof looks like. ELDT is the exception. Here is what the text says, section by section, with the part that surprises providers in the last column.

Citation What it requires The number in it What providers miss
380.715(a)
Theory assessment		 Written assessments to determine proficiency in the knowledge objectives in the theory portion of each unit of instruction 80 percent overall The assessment is attached to each unit of instruction, not to the course as a whole. A single end-of-course test that skips whole units does not match the sentence.
380.715(b)
Behind-the-wheel		 Instructors must evaluate and document proficiency in BTW skills in accordance with the applicable appendix curricula No score named BTW is a documented proficiency judgment by the instructor. The 80 percent figure belongs to theory only, and mixing the two is the most common misreading of this section.
Appendix A
Class A curriculum		 The instructor must cover all topics set forth in the curriculum Zero required hours There is no minimum number of instruction hours for theory. Coverage is the standard, which shifts the entire evidentiary weight onto the assessment and the lesson plans.
380.717
Training certification		 Electronic transmission of completion data through the TPR website Midnight of the second business day The clock starts at completion, not at the end of your billing week. The submission names the trainee, license and state, class or endorsement, theory or BTW, BTW clock hours, your TPR ID, and the completion dates.
380.725(b) and (c)
Records		 Retain BTW self-certifications, a copy of the CLP or CDL, instructor qualification documentation, the theory and BTW lesson plans, and records of individual assessments under 380.715 3 years minimum Individual assessment records are named explicitly in paragraph (b)(5). A score you did not keep per trainee is a record you cannot produce three years later.
380.719(a)(6)
Production on request		 All required documentation available to FMCSA or its authorized representative on request 48 hours Two days is not enough time to reconstruct anything. This deadline is the practical argument for keeping scored assessments in a form you can export per trainee.
380.721(a)(5)
Removal factors		 FMCSA may consider the state-administered CDL skills test passage rate for your Class A, Class B, passenger and school bus applicants, and the knowledge test passage rate for your hazmat applicants No threshold published Your graduates' pass rate is a listed factor in removal from the TPR. Weak theory instruction is therefore not just a training problem, it is a listing risk.

The Class A theory curriculum, and how to weight the assessment against it

Appendix A splits Class A theory into five sections and thirty units. Because 380.715(a) ties the written assessment to the theory portion of each unit of instruction, that structure is effectively a published blueprint for your question bank. The section nobody weights correctly is the last one.

Section Units What the units cover Assessment note
A1.1 Basic Operation 7 Orientation, control systems and dashboard, pre-trip and post-trip inspections, basic control, shifting and operating transmissions, backing and docking, coupling and uncoupling Inspection items translate cleanly into written questions because the trainee has to name what they are looking at and why it matters.
A1.2 Safe Operating Procedures 7 Visual search, communication, distracted driving, speed management, space management, night operation, extreme driving conditions Write these as short scenarios rather than definitions. Space management is a judgment, and a definition item will not surface a trainee who cannot apply it.
A1.3 Advanced Operating Practices 3 Hazard perception, skid control and recovery including jackknifing and other emergencies, railroad-highway grade crossings Three units, and disproportionate consequences. Grade crossing procedure is a recall item that belongs on every version of the assessment.
A1.4 Vehicle Systems and Reporting Malfunctions 3 Identification and diagnosis of malfunctions, roadside inspections, maintenance Roadside inspection questions double as the trainee's first exposure to what an out-of-service order feels like in the field.
A1.5 Non-Driving Activities 10 Cargo handling and documentation, environmental compliance, hours of service, fatigue and wellness, post-crash procedures, external communications, whistleblower and coercion, trip planning, drugs and alcohol, medical requirements The biggest section by unit count and the one most programs under-test. Hours of service, coercion and post-crash procedure are exactly where a written assessment outperforms a ride-along.

Class B, passenger, school bus and hazardous materials curricula sit in appendices B through E and follow the same pattern. A Class A applicant who already holds a valid Class B CDL may complete the Theory Instruction Upgrade Curriculum instead of the standard one, which is the sort of detail worth encoding as a separate question set rather than a footnote in your lesson plan.

How to build the theory assessment from your own lesson plans

1

Upload one unit at a time

Feed the lesson plan for a single unit rather than the whole course. Unit-level uploads give you unit-level questions, which is the structure 380.715(a) is written around.

2

Generate and rebalance once

You get questions with a matching answer key. Expect a cluster of definition items from the front of the document. Trade some of them for the applied scenarios that separate a trainee who listened from one who understood.

3

Build two versions per unit

Retakes are normal at an 80 percent bar. A second form per unit means a retake measures learning rather than memory of the first attempt, and it keeps your item pool from leaking around a classroom.

4

File the score per trainee

Keep the named trainee, the unit, the version of the lesson plan, the score and the date together, ready to produce inside the 48 hour window and to retain for three years.

What a defensible ELDT assessment record contains

380.725(b)(5) requires records of individual assessments but does not enumerate their fields. These nine make the file self-explanatory to an auditor who arrives two years after the class, which is the situation the three year retention period is describing.

Named driver-trainee and permit number

Tie the score to the same identity you transmitted through the TPR, including the state of licensure.

Curriculum and class

Class A standard, Class A upgrade, Class B, or the P, S or H endorsement curriculum. They are different papers and the record should say which one.

Unit of instruction assessed

The regulation attaches assessment to units. A record that names only the course loses the link the rule is built on.

Lesson plan version the items came from

Lesson plans are themselves a retained record under 380.725(b)(4). Version them and the assessment stops drifting away from the instruction.

Score and the 80 percent threshold

State the bar on the record itself. A raw score with no stated threshold makes the reader do arithmetic to reach your conclusion.

Retake attempts and dates

Retakes are not a problem. An undocumented retake is. Record the attempt, the form used, and the final result.

Instructor of record

Instructor qualification documentation is retained separately under 380.725(b)(3). Naming the instructor on the assessment connects the two files.

Delivery mode

Theory may be delivered online. Record whether the assessment was proctored, because that is the first question anyone asks about a remote score.

Date and TPR submission reference

The completion date you transmitted by midnight of the second business day should match the date on the assessment record without explanation.

Questions people ask about ELDT theory assessments

What score do you need to pass the ELDT theory test?

An overall minimum of 80 percent. 49 CFR 380.715(a) says training providers must use written assessments to determine driver-trainees' proficiency in the knowledge objectives in the theory portion of each unit of instruction, and that the driver-trainee must receive an overall minimum score of 80 percent on the theory assessment. Very few federal training rules put a number on comprehension at all, and this is one of them.

Does ELDT theory training require a written test?

Yes. Most federal training mandates stop at a verb like inform, instruct or apprise and leave the evidence to you. Part 380 does not. 380.715(a) requires written assessments across the knowledge objectives of each unit, and 380.725(b)(5) makes records of those individual assessments a retained record for at least three years, which means the test and its result are both part of your compliance file.

How many hours of ELDT theory training are required?

None. Appendix A states that there is no required minimum number of instruction hours for theory training, but the instructor must cover all topics set forth in the curriculum. That single sentence is why the assessment carries so much weight here: with no hour floor to point at, the written record of covered topics and scored comprehension is the evidence that the curriculum was delivered.

How long must an ELDT training provider keep assessment records?

At least three years from the date each record is generated or received, under 380.725(c). The retained set covers BTW self-certifications, a copy of the CLP or CDL, instructor qualification documentation, the theory and BTW lesson plans, and records of individual assessments. If a record such as an instructor's CDL has expired or been canceled, the most recent valid one should be retained.

Can FMCSA remove a training provider from the Training Provider Registry?

Yes. 380.721(a) lists the factors, and they run from failing the continued listing requirements in 380.719 to denying an audit, to material deficiencies identified in an audit, to falsely claiming state authorization. The factor most providers overlook is (a)(5), the state-administered CDL skills test passage rate of your graduates, plus the knowledge test passage rate for hazmat applicants. Training that does not stick shows up in that number.

How many units are in the Class A ELDT theory curriculum?

Thirty, across five sections: Basic Operation with seven units, Safe Operating Procedures with seven, Advanced Operating Practices with three, Vehicle Systems and Reporting Malfunctions with three, and Non-Driving Activities with ten. Because the assessment requirement attaches to the theory portion of each unit of instruction, that list is effectively the published blueprint for a compliant question bank.

When does an ELDT provider have to report training completion?

By midnight of the second business day after the trainee completes the training, under 380.717. The transmission through the TPR website includes the trainee name and license number with the state of licensure, the CDL class or endorsement and whether the training was theory or behind-the-wheel, the total BTW clock hours where applicable, the provider name and TPR identification number, and the dates of successful completion.

What should I upload to build the assessment?

Upload what you teach from: the theory lesson plans for a unit, your handouts, the slide deck an instructor presents, or the section of the curriculum you have written out in full. Questions built from your own lesson plan test the instruction you delivered. A generic ELDT question bank tests somebody else's course, and it will not line up with the lesson plans you are required to retain.

Turn your theory lesson plans into a scored assessment

Upload a unit, get questions with an answer key, and file the score with the trainee record. It takes about a minute.

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