Whether driving through the coastal plain, the central Piedmont, or the Blue Ridge Mountains, you’ll see the ocean, forests, waterfalls, and tons of beautiful scenery in South Carolina. Why not earn top dollar while you do it by adding the Hazardous Materials (Hazmat) endorsement to your Commercial Driver’s License (CDL)? The Hazmat endorsement not only increases a driver’s marketability but can also result in higher pay!
The Hazmat endorsement permits CDL holders to transport materials that the U.S. government has declared hazardous. These include explosives, certain types of fuel and industrial chemicals, radioactive materials, and infectious substances. Because of the dangers involved, the endorsement process involves several hurdles to ensure your safety and that of others and the environment.
The first step is to ensure you have completed all Entry-Level Driver Training (ELDT) requirements. You’ll then need to pass a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) fingerprinting and background check. This step comes with an often-lengthy waiting period (sometimes weeks) for results. We purposely suggest this as your second step because you can strategically use that waiting period to prepare for your third major hurdle: passing the South Carolina DMV HazMat Knowledge Test. The Knowledge Test features topics like federal regulations, substance handling, material packaging, quantity limits, and transport configurations for hazardous materials. You’ll need a minimum score of 80% to pass the knowledge test, which is made up of 30 questions (South Carolina CDL Handbook 2026).