Whether driving through the coastal plain, the central Piedmont, or the Blue Ridge Mountains, you’ll see the ocean, forests, waterfalls, and a vast array of scenery in South Carolina. You must have your sights on adding the Hazardous Materials (Hazmat) endorsement to your Commercial Driver’s License (CDL). First things first: under federal law, you must be at least 21 years of age to obtain this endorsement. That out of the way, according to 2026 driverreach.com, the Hazmat endorsement not only increases a driver’s marketability but can result in higher pay and recruitment potential!
Explosives, certain types of fuel and industrial chemicals, radioactive materials, and infectious substances: the Hazmat endorsement permits drivers to transport materials that the U.S. government has deemed hazardous. Because of this, the endorsement process contains several hurdles in place to ensure your safety and protect the people and environment in your driving area.
You’ll need to pass a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) fingerprinting and background check. This is step one and the results from TSA can take weeks to arrive, so you’ll want to use that waiting period to study and practice for the second requirement: the DMV knowledge test. The knowledge test addresses topics like federal regulations, substance handling, material packaging, quantity limits, and transport configurations for hazardous materials. You’ll need a score of 80% on South Carolina’s knowledge test, which is made up of 30 questions (South Carolina CDL Handbook 2026).