The Commercial Vehicle Training Association, Inc. (“CVTA”) is the national trade association representing the proprietary truck driving schools in the United States and Canada.  CVTA members, as a condition of membership, must agree to abide in the CVTA Code of Conduct. This Code was designed to ensure that students enrolled in member schools are provided with the highest quality driver training.

At present, CVTA has 49 Regular Member Schools that operate approximately 180 training sites around the United States. These sites graduate approximately 40,000 new entry-level drivers per year. 

In addition, the association has 15 Motor Carrier Members and 29 Associate Members. The Associate members of CVTA are businesses such as publishers of textbooks, drug-testing laboratories, driving simulator manufacturers, insurance companies, lead-generation firms, advertising agencies and third party finance houses.

J.Smith Lanier, and Werner Enterprises, Inc. are Platinum Sponsors of CVTA, and Covenant Transport, Delmar Cengage Learning and Roehl Transport are Gold Sponsors.

CVTA is committed to promoting the highest quality standards for commercial driver training schools.  It accomplishes this by securing a signed pledge to adhere to the Association’s Code of Conduct, screening all new applicants, and investigating all reported violations of the Code.  In addition, the Association promotes education of its members through two Conferences each year.  Each Conference features two full days of presentations and discussions on matters that are of interest to commercial driver training organizations. The Association has also developed an Instructor Certification Program to help improve the quality of instruction received by graduates from its member organizations.

CVTA also participates with other trucking industry groups that are addressing driver issues.  The Association has a seat on the Board of Directors of the Professional Truck Driver Institute and the National Association of Publicly Funded Truck Driving Schools. CVTA is an Associate Member of the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators, and its members sit on the CDL Test Maintenance Committee of that organization. The Association is also a member of the Truckload Carriers Association. Individual members of CVTA have assisted the Professional Truck Driver Institute in developing its curriculum standards as well as the standards for its Driver Finishing Program and the Younger Driver Initiative.

The Association is a recognized tax-exempt organization under the Internal Revenue Code.  A Board of Directors that is chosen from among the membership through a general election governs it.  The Board consists of seven Member school owners, a representative chosen from among the Associate Members, a motor carrier Member, a Member from the Association of Publicly Funded Truck Driving Schools and the immediate past chairperson. 

CVTA maintains a permanent headquarters in the Washington, DC area to permit its Members to have proactive representation on issues that affect them in the legislative, regulatory and trucking industry arenas.  CVTA also has an outreach program to speak to and participate with many organizations in the trucking and trucking-related industries.

In the future, CVTA will continue to address issues that affect truck driver training schools, including development of finance sources and elimination of false and deceptive advertising by schools and motor carriers.