13 states allow under-21 hazmat drivers for intrastate commerce

When Mike Hayden first heard at propane industry meetings about how truck drivers in some states were permitted to receive their hazmat endorsement (HME) for intrastate commerce at age 18, he immediately took the information back to his home state of Indiana.

Federal regulations allow truck drivers to get their CDL at 18 for intrastate driving, but opportunities for drivers to get their HME at that age are limited.

Hayden, assistant vice president of propane for Keystone Cooperative, knew how important those three years could be from a workforce development standpoint, getting young employees to join the propane industry early and help strengthen its pool of delivery drivers.

Hayden worked with Matt Solak, executive director of the Indiana Propane Gas Association, and state leaders in 2023 to craft legislation that would lower the age for CDL hazmat drivers from 21 to 18 for those intrastate routes. It became law in a matter of weeks.

Now Keystone has more flexibility to attract the right people to its propane division, which includes 200 employees, 100 bobtails and 100 drivers. Two of its employees have benefited from the new regulation in Indiana.

“Prior to this, we would not be able to reach out to kids coming out of high school looking for a career. We would have to wait for those 18-year-olds to try a different career that doesn’t work and then come to propane once they are 21,” Hayden says. “This allows us to bring a high school graduate or a kid that age directly into a profession at the age of 18 that helps them develop a career path and helps us in an environment where it’s harder to find good applicants.”

According to the National Propane Gas Association (NPGA), Indiana is one of 13 states that allow truck drivers to get their HME at 18 instead of 21 for intrastate commerce. The others are Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, Ohio, Vermont, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

Lowering the hazmat driver age to 18 is all about leveling the playing field, says Jacob Peterson, senior director, state advocacy and affairs, at NPGA. The national association supports state and regional propane associations in these efforts to lower the hazmat driving age. It also helps companies get under-21 hazmat drivers insured and on the road through its ACE entry-level driver training program.

“In states where this is still not permitted, we are at a competitive disadvantage,” Peterson says. “If you’re Walmart, you can go engage someone who’s about to graduate from high school. You can engage someone who just started vocational training and say, ‘Come drive for me in [a state where this is not permitted]. You never cross state lines – no big deal.’

“If you’re an LP marketer, you say, ‘Well, you can come work for me, but you can’t deliver fuel for three years,’” Peterson adds. “So, the utility of that employee is greatly diminished, and by the time that individual turns 21, they likely are already invested in a competing industry where you can get your CDL at 18, but you don’t need a hazardous material endorsement because you’re not transporting a [hazardous material].”

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