While the California DMV plans to delay cancelling the licenses, this class-action lawsuit seeks to halt the process outright.
In late December of 2025, advocacy group, the Sikh Coalition, filed a class-action lawsuit against the California DMV to stop the agency from cancelling non-domiciled commercial driver's licenses (CDLs) for 20,000 drivers in the state.
In a press release on December 23rd, the Sikh Coalition describes how these commercial drivers were considered outside of compliance over alleged inconsistencies between the expiration dates of their CDLs and the expiration dates of their work authorization records. They argue that these drivers already regularly renew their licenses and work authorizations and to deprive them of their livelihoods could also impact the country's supply chain.
Events Leading Up to the Case
As part of the administration's initiative to update safety rules in the trucking industry, President Donald Trump signed an executive order on April 28, 2025, strengthening English language proficiency requirements for commercial drivers. Following-up on this action, the secretary of the Department of Transportation, Sean Duffy signed a similar English proficiency rule in May.
In September of 2025, the FMCSA announced an emergency rule to restrict the issuance of non-domiciled CDLs. The California DMV in turn started releasing letters on November 6th, 2025, informing these drivers that their licenses would be cancelled 60 days from the letters being sent out. A week later, on November 13th, the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued a stay on this rule. This in effect paused restrictions on non-domiciled CDLs.
On December 17th, KQED reported that the California DMV would begin reissuing licenses, however the state reversed course on December 19th. On December 30th, one week after the Sikh Coalition's lawsuit, the DMV announced they would delay the cancellation process for an additional 60 days, with the potential of resuming the cancellation process on March 6th, 2026.
What this means for drivers right now
With the California DMV pushing the cancellation to March 6th, non-domiciled CDLs would still be considered valid in the state. However, with Secretary Duffy stating that the licenses would be cancelled on January 5th and the threat of withholding up to $160 million in federal funds, it remains to be seen how the Department of Transportation will respond.
You can follow Sky Transport Solutions for updates in this ongoing lawsuit and other news related to CDLs.