Michigan regulators have suspended a commercial truck driving school operated by Northern Michigan University in Marquette following an investigation that uncovered multiple alleged violations involving student permits, training documents, and required records.

The Michigan Department of State issued a summary suspension to Northern Michigan University Truck Driving School on Aug. 5 after an initial probe by the agency's Driver Education Unit. The school is now prohibited from conducting classroom or range instruction while the suspension remains in effect.

Among the most significant allegations, regulators said the school provided behind-the-wheel instruction to students without first verifying that they held valid commercial learner's permits. The investigation also found that the program failed to maintain records required by law, including student financial records, and did not use mandatory written agreements with students before instruction began.

Additional allegations include keeping records at a location other than its established office and permitting students to sign blank instructional documents that were subsequently completed. The alleged violations fall under Michigan's Driver Education Provider and Instructor Act, which governs driver education providers and instructors statewide. The investigation remains ongoing.

The enforcement action comes amid heightened state and federal scrutiny of commercial driver training programs and concerns about whether schools are adequately preparing and certifying drivers before they obtain commercial driver's licenses. The integrity of CDL training carries significant public-safety implications: commercial trucks can weigh up to 80,000 pounds, and improperly certified drivers pose elevated risks on public roads.

Since February 2022, the FMCSA has required all new CDL applicants to complete Entry-Level Driver Training from registered providers under federal regulations that established minimum curriculum standards for both classroom and behind-the-wheel instruction. Those rules were designed in part to address inconsistencies in training quality across thousands of commercial driving schools nationwide, making compliance audits a key tool for both state regulators and federal authorities.

Michigan's move follows a July 16 announcement by the U.S. Departments of Transportation and Homeland Security of a joint operation targeting fraudulent and illegal practices at commercial driver training programs. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) said it had identified approximately 75 entry-level driver training schools suspected of fraudulent activity, including improper driver certifications, falsified training records, and failures to properly train CDL applicants. The operation was announced as part of an expanded crackdown by the Trump administration on suspected fraud involving CDL training schools.

Sources: Michigan Department of State | U.S. Department of Transportation