Start CDL Fights FMCSA's Emergency Registry Removal Over ELP
Start CDL Inc., a New Jersey ELDT provider, filed an emergency motion asking FMCSA to stay its August 31, 2026 Notice of Emergency Removal from the Training Provider Registry while the agency reviews a separate petition challenging the removal. The filings, posted to FMCSA's docket on October 23, include a sworn affidavit from owner Vasyl Kushnir.
FMCSA's notice said Start CDL uploaded ELDT certificates for six driver-trainees later cited for English Language Proficiency (ELP) violations. The affidavit says the spreadsheet FMCSA attached actually lists those drivers under a different provider, Star CDL Training LLC, with a different Training Provider Registry ID, and that other cited records belong to Punjabi School of CDL Inc. Kushnir also says a Department of Transportation audit in July 2026 found no ELP-related deficiencies, and that one flagged trainee scored 84% on Start CDL's own English proficiency assessment months before his roadside citation.
The motion argues Part 380 requires trainees to certify English proficiency, not training providers to test for it, and that FMCSA has not shown willful disregard sufficient for emergency removal. The exhibits were also filed in a related federal case, 1:26-cv-12902-CPO-SAK.
What's next
- No ruling date is stated; watch the FMCSA-2026-3699 docket for FMCSA's response to the stay request.
- Outcome could shape how FMCSA documents provider attribution in future ELP-related TPR removals.
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