New Jersey asks more of a school bus driver than a regular CDL holder: a minimum age, two endorsements, a fingerprint background check that repeats at every license renewal, a medical card, and training from the employer twice a year. This guide lists the NJ school bus driver requirements in one place — what the driver needs to get the job, and what the company has to keep up once they have it.
Everything below comes from the NJ Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC) and the NJ Department of Education (NJDOE), checked on Oct 25, 2026.
NJ school bus driver requirements at a glance
| Requirement | What New Jersey asks |
|---|---|
| Age and experience | At least 21, with three years of driving experience (for the S and P endorsements). |
| License | A valid CDL of the right class for the bus, with the S (school bus) and P (passenger) endorsements — for any vehicle registered as a school bus, whatever its size. |
| Background check | A federal and state criminal history record check with fingerprints, run through the employer, and repeated at each license renewal. |
| Medical | A DOT medical certificate on file with FMCSA's National Registry; NJDOE lists it as every 24 months, with extra exams for older S drivers. |
| Training | Federal entry-level driver training before the first skills test for the endorsement, then the employer's safety education twice per calendar year. |
| Drug and alcohol testing | CDL drivers are in the federal DOT testing program, including Clearinghouse queries. |
CDL class and the S and P endorsements
A driver needs a commercial driver's license with the endorsements for the class and type of vehicle they drive (N.J.A.C. 6A:27-12.1(d)), issued by the MVC or the state where they mainly live. Federal law requires a CDL for vehicles designed for 16 or more passengers, but New Jersey goes further: NJDOE says any vehicle registered as a school bus, regardless of capacity, needs a CDL with the S and P endorsements (N.J.A.C. 13:21-23.5).
For the S endorsement, the MVC asks the applicant to:
- Be at least 21, with three years of driving experience.
- Complete a federal background check and a state criminal background investigation — arranged through the employer or the local school district.
- Bring NJDOE's Applicant Approval Employment History document (see fingerprinting, below).
- Hand in a CDL holder Self-Certification form and have an electronic Medical Examiner's Certificate on file with FMCSA's National Registry.
- Pass a road test — and test for the P endorsement too, since both are needed to drive a school bus.
- Meet the vision standard: 20/40 in each eye (with or without glasses), 70 degrees of peripheral vision in each eye, and able to tell red, green and amber.
Tip: Since Feb 7, 2022, first-time applicants for an endorsement must finish entry-level driver training (ELDT) with a provider on FMCSA's Training Provider Registry before the skills test. Budget the time and cost when you hire someone without the S endorsement.
New Jersey school bus driver fingerprinting
The criminal history record check is run by NJDOE's Office of Student Protection, with fingerprint searches by the NJ State Police and the FBI. The way it works, from NJDOE's FAQ:
- The driver must already be employed by a school or an authorized school bus contractor (that's what your Contractor Code is for).
- They fill in the online request and pay NJDOE's fee, then book fingerprints with IdentoGO (Idemia), the state's only authorized vendor. NJDOE's FAQ lists $10 plus a $1 convenience fee for the request and $68.98 for the prints (effective July 1, 2023) — the applicant pays, though many employers reimburse.
- About two weeks after printing, the approval shows on the driver's Applicant Approval Employment History on NJDOE's site.
- The driver prints it and takes it to the MVC for the S endorsement — at first application and at renewal.
- At every license renewal the driver goes through the check again. NJDOE suggests starting one to two months before the license expires, but no sooner than three months.
- Changing employers? The driver or the new employer submits a Transfer Request online (NJDOE lists $5 plus a $1 fee); the employer must make sure it was done.
- Before a newly hired, already approved driver goes on a route, the employer sends the Office of Student Protection a school bus driver transmittal form and waits for the approval letter (N.J.A.C. 6A:27-12.1(f)).
NJDOE's FAQ also explains what disqualifies a driver: two convictions for driving under the influence within 10 years, or one while driving a school bus, permanently disqualifies them from public school employment. And under state law, a driver found to have left a child on the bus loses the S endorsement for six months for a first offense and permanently for a second.
Medical card and age rules
NJDOE's contractor fact sheet lists a DOT physician's medical certification every 24 months (N.J.A.C. 13:21-14.5). For S drivers, state law adds an annual state medical exam from age 70 to 74 and an exam every six months from 75. A medical examiner can certify a driver for less than 24 months, so always track the date on the card itself — see tracking CDL and medical card expiry.
Training the employer must give
Once a driver is hired, training is the employer's job under N.J.A.C. 6A:27-11.3:
- A safety education program twice per calendar year for every permanent and substitute driver (and aide): student management and discipline, accident and emergency procedures, conducting emergency exit drills, loading and unloading, bus stop loading zone safety, checking the bus for students left on board, and student record privacy.
- Defensive driving and railroad crossing procedures for drivers.
- The state's training on interacting with students with disabilities, before the person first drives or rides as an aide. They give you a certification within five business days of finishing; you keep it for as long as they work for you and send a copy with the annual certification.
Our post on in-service training tracking shows how to keep the twice-a-year sessions on record.
Every day on the job
- A daily school bus condition report, as the MVC prescribes, before the first run.
- A seat belt worn and fastened.
- A child check at the end of every route — see the school bus child check procedure.
- Immediate reporting of any accident to the school and district, with the preliminary accident report by the end of the next business day.
Drug and alcohol testing is its own program, with the employer doing most of the work: see school bus driver drug and alcohol testing for contractors. For the company side of New Jersey's rules — the annual certification, the qualifications record and renewal notices — see New Jersey school bus contractor requirements.
Doing it in FleetCommander
Each driver's record holds the license number, state, class and expiry, CDL endorsements and CDL restrictions, Medical card expires, Background check status, Fingerprint approved on, Drug/alcohol test status, and Training status and Training date (the fingerprint and training dates are recorded only — they don't send reminders). The Documents tab keeps copies — the CDL, the Medical Certificate, a Driver Abstract, the background check letter, training certificates — each with an expiry date and an Expired or Expires soon tag, and the office gets reminders before the license, medical card and dated documents run out. See the Drivers guide.
Where the HR section is on, Hiring has a board with Road test and Background check stages for applicants, and Certifications tracks the ready-made School bus in-service training, Physical, Background check and Drug test types with renewal periods you set to your rules. Book a medical exam or a road test on the Schedule with the driver linked and the driver is told. See the HR guide.
Ask Ava (Beta) in the app: Which licences expire this month? or Which certifications expire this month? with HR access — and drivers can ask her Is my medical card still good? about their own card.
Good to know: Requirements here come from the NJ MVC's CDL endorsements page, NJDOE's school bus contractor fact sheet and criminal history FAQ, and N.J.A.C. 6A:27, checked on Oct 25, 2026. Fees, forms and exam schedules change — confirm with the NJ MVC and NJDOE's Office of Student Protection before you rely on them.
Questions people ask
- How old do you have to be to drive a school bus in NJ?
- At least 21, with three years of driving experience, to get the S (school bus) and P (passenger) endorsements from the NJ MVC.
- Do you need a CDL to drive a school bus in New Jersey?
- Yes. New Jersey requires a CDL with S and P endorsements for any vehicle registered as a school bus, whatever its size, in the class that fits the bus.
- How often are NJ school bus drivers fingerprinted?
- At the first application for the S endorsement and again at every license renewal. A driver who changes employers files a Transfer Request instead of being printed again.
- How often do NJ school bus drivers need training?
- Employers must give drivers and aides a safety education program twice per calendar year, plus defensive driving and railroad crossing training, and the state's training on students with disabilities before the first route.