Truck Driver Resume Example (+ Template)

Mid-level sample — Class A CDL driver, 8 years' experience

MARCUS DELGADO Toledo, OH 43604 · (419) 555-0137 · marcus.delgado@email.com Class A CDL (Ohio) · Endorsements: H (hazmat), N (tanker), T (doubles/triples) · DOT medical examiner's certificate current to 04/2027 · Clean MVR, no preventable accidents

SUMMARY Class A CDL driver with 8 years on over-the-road and Midwest regional lanes, more than 800,000 miles driven with no preventable accidents and no hours-of-service violations. Experienced on 53-ft dry van, refrigerated and tank trailers, electronic logging, cargo securement and pre- and post-trip inspections. Comfortable with both 2,500-mile solo weeks and multi-stop regional runs of 8 to 12 drops a day. Looking for a regional or dedicated reefer lane with weekly home time.

EXPERIENCE

Regional Tractor-Trailer Driver — [Refrigerated carrier], Toledo, OH · Mar 2021 – Present - Run 5-day Midwest regional lanes of 2,200–2,600 miles per week, delivering 18–22 refrigerated loads a month to grocery and foodservice distribution centers in OH, MI, IN, IL and PA. - Hold a 98% on-time delivery record over 4 years by planning fuel, scale and break stops around the 11-hour driving limit and tight receiving windows. - Complete pre- and post-trip inspections on tractor and 53-ft reefer every shift, averaging 2–3 written defect reports a month so the shop catches air leaks, lights and tire wear before a breakdown. - Monitor reefer set points between -10°F and 38°F and record temperatures at each pickup and drop; zero loads rejected for temperature in 4 years. - Passed 11 DOT roadside inspections with no out-of-service violations and mentored 3 new hires through their first two weeks of accompanied driving.

Over-the-Road Driver — [Dry van truckload carrier], Columbus, OH · Nov 2018 – Feb 2021 - Hauled dry van freight across 38 states on 10- to 14-day tours, averaging 110,000 solo miles a year. - Secured loads up to 44,000 lbs with straps, load bars and e-track, and verified seals and counts against the bill of lading at every pickup; no freight claims filed in 3 years. - Logged duty status on the ELD under the 70-hour/8-day rule and took 34-hour restarts as scheduled; no hours-of-service violations on any audit. - Called in delays, breakdowns and weather reroutes to dispatch within 15 minutes, keeping on-time delivery above 96% through two winter seasons. - Averaged 7.2 mpg against a fleet target of 6.8 by progressive shifting, steady cruise speeds and holding idle time under 20%.

Local Delivery Driver (non-CDL box truck) — [Building supply distributor], Toledo, OH · Jun 2016 – Oct 2018 - Delivered 15–20 stops a day in a 26-ft box truck across a 60-mile radius, loading the truck in route order before each shift. - Loaded and unloaded up to 12 pallets per route using a sit-down forklift and electric pallet jack. - Collected signatures, delivery receipts and COD payments, and reconciled paperwork daily with no shortages in 2 years.

SKILLS Pre- and post-trip inspections · Cargo securement (straps, chains, binders, load bars, e-track) · Electronic logging devices and hours-of-service compliance · Reefer unit operation and temperature logging · Trip and fuel planning · Backing (straight line, offset, alley dock, blind side) · Tanker and hazmat handling, placarding and shipping papers · Bills of lading and proof of delivery · Forklift and pallet jack · Chaining up and winter mountain driving · Roadside troubleshooting (air lines, lights, tire pressure) · Conversational Spanish

EDUCATION AND TRAINING Certificate, Truck and Bus Driver / Commercial Vehicle Operator — [Community college CDL program], Toledo, OH · 2018 (4-month program, 160 hours behind the wheel) High School Diploma — [High school], Toledo, OH · 2016

LICENCES AND CERTIFICATIONS Class A Commercial Driver's License, State of Ohio — current Hazardous Materials (H) endorsement — knowledge test and background check completed, renewed 2024 Tank Vehicle (N) and Doubles/Triples (T) endorsements DOT medical examiner's certificate — current, renewed every 2 years Forklift operator certification (sit-down counterbalance) — 2017

If you are starting out, the same page is shorter and the order changes: training and licence move above work history, and your bullets come from warehouse, delivery or school driving rather than freight miles.

Entry-level variant — recent CDL school graduate

DANIELLE ROWE Springfield, MO 65802 · (417) 555-0188 · d.rowe@email.com Class A CDL (Missouri), issued January 2026 · Entry-Level Driver Training completed with a provider listed on FMCSA's Training Provider Registry · DOT medical certificate current · Clean MVR · Available for OTR, home every 2–3 weeks

SUMMARY Class A CDL holder who completed a 4-month commercial vehicle operator certificate with 180 hours of classroom and behind-the-wheel training and passed all three parts of the skills test on the first attempt. Four years of warehouse and local delivery work loading trailers, operating a forklift and handling delivery paperwork. Ready for over-the-road work with a mentor-driver and willing to run all 48 states.

EDUCATION AND TRAINING Certificate, Truck and Bus Driver / Commercial Vehicle Operator — [Community college CDL program], Springfield, MO · Sep 2025 – Jan 2026 - Completed 180 program hours covering pre-trip inspection, basic control skills, coupling and uncoupling, shifting, backing, night and adverse-weather driving, hours-of-service logging and cargo securement. - Held a commercial learner's permit for 6 weeks and logged 70 hours behind the wheel, including 40 hours on public roads and highways. - Passed the Vehicle Inspection Test, Basic Controls Test and Road Test on the first attempt. High School Diploma — [High school], Springfield, MO · 2021

EXPERIENCE

Warehouse Associate — [Regional distributor], Springfield, MO · Mar 2022 – Dec 2025 - Loaded and unloaded 20–25 trailers per shift using a sit-down forklift and electric pallet jack, averaging 600 pallets a week. - Checked inbound loads against bills of lading and reported 100% of damaged or short shipments the same shift. - Built and shrink-wrapped mixed pallets to a 48-stop route plan, keeping load-out on schedule for a 5:00 a.m. departure.

Delivery Driver (non-CDL van) — [Parts supplier], Springfield, MO · Jul 2021 – Feb 2022 - Ran 25–30 stops a day across a 40-mile territory with no at-fault incidents in 8 months. - Completed daily vehicle checks and reported defects to the shop before each route.

SKILLS Pre-trip and post-trip inspection · Backing (straight line, offset, alley dock) · Coupling and uncoupling · Manual transmission, 10-speed · Hours-of-service logging on ELD · Cargo securement and load counts · Forklift and pallet jack · Map and GPS trip planning · Customer paperwork

LICENCES AND CERTIFICATIONS Class A Commercial Driver's License, State of Missouri — issued January 2026 Entry-Level Driver Training (ELDT) — completed with a registered training provider, 2026 DOT medical examiner's certificate — current Forklift operator certification — 2022 Hazmat (H) endorsement — knowledge test scheduled

Work top to bottom. A hiring recruiter is usually screening for licence class, endorsements, equipment experience, recent driving history and accident record, in that order, so put those facts where the eye lands first.

1. Header. Name, city and state, phone, email. Then a credentials line directly underneath: licence class and issuing state, endorsements by letter, whether your DOT medical certificate is current, and whether your motor vehicle record is clean. Do not print your full licence number, date of birth or Social Security number — carriers collect those on the application, not the resume. If you are open about home time, say it here in a few words ("available for OTR, home every 2–3 weeks" or "seeking regional, home weekends"), because it answers the recruiter's first question.

1. Summary. Three or four lines, no heading of its own beyond the word SUMMARY. Use this formula:

[Licence class] CDL driver with [years] on [lane type: OTR / regional / local / dedicated] hauling [equipment and freight], [total miles or annual miles] with [safety record]. Endorsed for [H / N / T / P]. Seeking [lane type and home time].

Example — experienced driver

Class A CDL driver with 12 years on long-haul and dedicated flatbed lanes, approximately 1.3 million miles with one non-preventable incident and no out-of-service violations. Endorsed for tanker and doubles/triples; experienced with chains, binders, tarping and oversize permits. Seeking dedicated regional flatbed work with weekly home time.

Example — career changer with a new CDL

Class A CDL holder who completed a 16-week commercial vehicle operator certificate and 200 hours of training, including 80 hours behind the wheel. Nine years of shift work in manufacturing with perfect attendance and a forklift certification. Ready for OTR with a mentor-driver and comfortable with a 10-speed manual.

1. Experience. List jobs newest first with job title, employer (or a plain description if you prefer), city and state, and month-and-year dates. Gaps of more than 30 days get noticed because carriers verify employment history, so account for them in a line rather than hiding them. Use this bullet formula:

Action verb + what you hauled or did + equipment and lane + scope in miles, loads, stops, weight or states + result in on-time rate, claims, inspections or fuel economy.

Example bullets you can adapt: - Drove 120,000 miles a year solo in a 53-ft dry van across 42 states with no preventable accidents in 4 years. - Delivered 22–26 loads a month to retail distribution centers on appointment windows, holding on-time delivery at 97%. - Hauled bulk liquid in a 7,000-gallon tanker on dedicated lanes, managing surge on grades and completing product checks at every load and unload. - Tarped and secured steel, lumber and machinery loads up to 48,000 lbs with chains, straps and binders; zero cargo claims across 3 years. - Logged all duty status electronically under the 14-hour on-duty and 11-hour driving limits, taking 34-hour restarts as scheduled, with no hours-of-service violations. - Completed pre- and post-trip inspections each shift and recorded defects in writing, flagging an average of 3 maintenance items a month to the shop. - Passed 14 DOT roadside inspections over 5 years with no out-of-service violations. - Ran a multi-stop city route of 12–16 drops a day in a 48-ft trailer, including alley dock and blind-side backing at tight receivers. - Raised average fuel economy from 6.6 to 7.1 mpg over 12 months by cutting idle time and holding steady highway speeds. - Trained 5 new drivers during their accompanied driving weeks, covering backing, trip planning and log corrections. - Transported placarded hazardous materials under the hazmat endorsement, checking shipping papers, placards and segregation rules at every load. - Communicated delays, detention and breakdowns to dispatch within 15 minutes so loads could be rescheduled or re-covered.

Give 4 or 5 bullets to your current job and 3 to older ones. Jobs more than 10 years back can be one line each, or cut if they are unrelated.

1. Skills. A compact block, not a long column — two or three lines separated by middots or a simple list. Name equipment (dry van, reefer, flatbed, tanker, doubles, auto-hauler, end dump), systems (electronic logging devices, onboard cameras, routing and fuel-planning apps, handheld scanners), and physical skills (chaining up, tarping, forklift, pallet jack, liftgate). Skip generic adjectives; the table further down shows how to turn each skill into evidence.

1. Education. Most companies ask for a high school diploma or equivalent, and many drivers attend a private truck-driving school or a community college program lasting 3 to 6 months and receive a certificate of completion (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2025). List the certificate, the program length, the hours behind the wheel if you know them, and the year. A relevant program title is "Truck and Bus Driver / Commercial Vehicle Operator and Instructor" (CareerOneStop, U.S. Department of Labor). If your school's tractor-trailer course holds Professional Truck Driver Institute course certification, say so — that body certifies courses covering basic and safe operations theory plus behind-the-wheel training. Add your high school diploma or GED on one line with the year.

6. Licences and certifications. This section does real work, so keep it specific: - Licence class and issuing state. All long-haul drivers must hold a commercial driver's license, and the qualifications vary by state but generally include passing a knowledge test and a driving test (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2025). - Endorsements by letter: hazardous materials (H), tank vehicle (N), passenger (P), doubles/triples (T), or the combined tank and hazmat endorsement (CareerOneStop, U.S. Department of Labor). The hazmat endorsement requires an additional knowledge test and a background check (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2025), so note the year you last renewed it. - Entry-Level Driver Training, if it applies to you. Since February 7, 2022, ELDT is required for anyone obtaining a Class A or Class B CDL for the first time, upgrading a Class B to a Class A, or obtaining a passenger, school bus or hazardous materials endorsement for the first time, and the training must come from a provider on FMCSA's Training Provider Registry (Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration). New drivers should write that the training was completed with a registered provider. - DOT medical examiner's certificate and its expiry. Federal regulations require CDL drivers to maintain a clean driving record, pass a physical exam every two years, and submit to random drug and alcohol testing (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2025). Vision standards apply as well: at least 20/40 vision with a 70-degree field of vision in each eye and the ability to distinguish traffic light colors (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2025). You do not need to spell those rules out — just confirm your card is current. - Any forklift, first aid, tanker-specific or cargo-handling certification with the year.

Format and length. One page if you have under 10 years of driving; two pages only if you have long tenures or a lot of endorsements and equipment to list. Use a plain font at 10 to 12 points, margins of 0.5 to 1 inch, and your name at 16 to 20 points. Left-align everything; no columns, no photo, no graphics or skill bars, since applicant systems and carrier portals handle plain text better. Save as PDF unless the application asks for .doc or .docx, and name the file something like Delgado-Marcus-ClassA-CDL.pdf.

The difference is almost always scope. Driving work is measured in miles, loads, stops, pounds, gallons, inspections and dates, so every bullet has a number available if you look for it.

Pair 1 — long-haul driving - Weak: Responsible for driving a truck and delivering freight on time. - Strong: Drove 115,000 miles a year solo in a 53-ft dry van across 42 states, holding on-time delivery at 97% over 3 years. - Why it works: the recruiter learns your annual miles, your equipment, your geography and your service record in one line, and all four are things they would otherwise have to ask about.

Pair 2 — safety and compliance - Weak: Always followed all DOT rules and kept accurate logs. - Strong: Logged duty status on the ELD under the 14-hour on-duty and 11-hour driving limits with no hours-of-service violations in 5 years, and passed 11 DOT roadside inspections with no out-of-service violations. - Why it works: "followed the rules" is the minimum expectation. Inspection counts and a violation-free span are the evidence a safety director can act on.

Pair 3 — cargo handling - Weak: Loaded and secured freight properly. - Strong: Secured flatbed loads of steel and machinery up to 48,000 lbs with chains, straps and binders, tarping as required; zero cargo claims across 3 years and 400+ loads. - Why it works: it names the equipment, the weight class and the outcome, which tells a flatbed carrier you have done the hard version of the job.

Pair 4 — maintenance and equipment care - Weak: Did pre-trip inspections every day. - Strong: Completed pre- and post-trip inspections each shift on tractor and 53-ft reefer, submitting 2–3 written defect reports a month and keeping unplanned roadside breakdowns to one in 4 years. - Why it works: inspections are routine, but the defect reports and the breakdown count show that you catch problems before the truck stops on the shoulder.

Pick 8 to 12 that match the job posting and make sure each one appears somewhere in your bullets, not only in the skills block.

Pay for drivers of heavy trucks and tractor-trailers is usually built on mileage rather than an hourly rate: drivers are typically paid by how many miles they have driven, plus bonuses, with the per-mile rate varying by employer, cargo type and driver experience, while some owner-operators are paid a share of shipping revenue (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2025). Local and regional jobs are more often paid hourly or by the stop, and dedicated accounts sometimes pay a flat rate per load. When you compare offers, compare the whole package: cents per mile, detention and layover pay, stop pay, breakdown pay, safety and fuel-economy bonuses, how empty miles are treated, and how many miles the carrier actually runs each week.

For a national benchmark, the median annual wage for heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers was $58,640 in May 2025, with the lowest 10% earning less than $40,140 and the highest 10% earning more than $79,380 (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2025). What moves an individual driver within that range is mostly lane type, endorsements and freight. Hazmat, tanker and doubles/triples endorsements open higher-paying work; flatbed, oversize and tanker loads pay for the extra handling and risk; night, winter and metro lanes pay for inconvenience. Experience and a clean record matter because insurance does: carriers price risk, and a driver with years of violation-free inspections is cheaper to insure. Pay also varies by state, by metro area and by the carrier's customer base, so a figure quoted in one region may mean little in another.

On demand, employment of heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers is projected to grow 4 percent from 2025 to 2035, about as fast as average, with about 214,500 openings projected each year on average (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2025). Entry is comparatively quick: the typical entry-level education is a postsecondary nondegree award with short-term on-the-job training and no prior work experience required (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2025), and after driving school and hiring, drivers normally get several weeks of accompanied driving with an experienced mentor-driver (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2025).

To check current numbers rather than relying on a figure in a job ad, use the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — the Occupational Outlook Handbook entry for heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers for national pay and projections, and the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program for state and metropolitan-area wages. CareerOneStop, run by the U.S. Department of Labor, shows the same wage data by state, and your state's CDL licensing agency is the place to confirm licence and endorsement requirements, which vary by state.

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