Florida Hazmat CDL Practice Test

This is a free 20-question practice test for the Hazmat portion of the Florida Commercial Driver's License knowledge exam. Questions are pulled from a pool of 68 drawn from the AAMVA CDL Manual, which is the source document the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles uses to write its actual exam.

How it works: Click an answer. The correct choice highlights in green, and you'll see a short explanation. Aim for 85% or better before you sit for the real test in Florida.

Question 1 of 20

How many hazard classes are there?

Three
Five
Nine
Twelve

Correct. There are nine hazard classes: 1 explosives, 2 gases, 3 flammable liquids, 4 flammable solids, 5 oxidizers and organic peroxides, 6 toxic and infectious, 7 radioactive, 8 corrosive, 9 miscellaneous.

Question 2 of 20

When you stop at a railroad crossing in a placarded hazmat vehicle, you must stop:

On the tracks
Between 15 and 50 feet from the nearest rail
Anywhere
Only if a train is visible

Correct. Placarded hazmat vehicles must stop at every railroad crossing 15 to 50 feet from the nearest rail. Look and listen for trains.

Question 3 of 20

Placards are required when:

Any amount of a Table 1 material is loaded, or 1,001+ lbs total of any combination of Table 2 materials
Any cargo is loaded
Only flammables are loaded
Only at the driver's discretion

Correct. Table 1 materials always require placards (any amount). Table 2 materials require placards when 1,001 pounds or more of any combination is loaded.

Question 4 of 20

When loading hazmat that requires segregation, the driver must:

Refuse to mix incompatible materials in the same vehicle, per the segregation table
Mix them anyway
Load whatever fits
Stack on top

Correct. The segregation table in 49 CFR §177.848 lists which classes cannot be loaded together. Refusing improperly mixed loads is the driver's responsibility.

Question 5 of 20

Inhalation hazard placards (Division 6.1 PIH or Division 2.3) require:

Smaller placards
Subsidiary "INHALATION HAZARD" placards in addition to the primary placard
No placards
Only one placard

Correct. PIH (Poison Inhalation Hazard) materials require a primary hazard-class placard plus an "INHALATION HAZARD" subsidiary placard.

Question 6 of 20

Hazard Class 3 is:

Flammable liquids
Explosives
Toxic substances
Radioactive

Correct. Class 3 is flammable liquids — gasoline, diesel, ethanol, alcohols, etc.

Question 7 of 20

The four-digit ID number on a placard or shipping paper is the:

UN/NA identification number for the material
The driver's permit number
The truck VIN
The DOT registration number

Correct. The four-digit number is the UN/NA ID — used with the ERG to find emergency response procedures.

Question 8 of 20

A driver must understand the hazmat security plan:

Only managers do
Only when it is required for the carrier and the materials being transported, then driver in-depth security training is required
Never
Only on request

Correct. When a security plan is required (Division 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, certain quantities of toxic-by-inhalation, etc.), drivers receive in-depth security training and a copy or summary of the plan.

Question 9 of 20

When loading or unloading cargo tanks of flammable liquid, the driver must:

Stay alert and within 25 feet of the vehicle, with a clear view
Leave the area
Smoke
Run the engine at high RPM

Correct. During cargo-tank flammable-liquid loading or unloading, the driver must remain attentive and within 25 feet of the vehicle with an unobstructed view.

Question 10 of 20

You should never smoke or carry an open flame near hazmat that is:

Class 1 (explosives), Class 2.1 (flammable gas), Class 3 (flammable liquid), or oxidizers (Class 5.1)
Any class
Class 9
Class 6

Correct. Smoking or open flames are dangerous near explosives, flammable gases, flammable liquids, and oxidizers. The 25-foot rule applies during loading.

Question 11 of 20

Hazard Class 8 is:

Flammable solids
Corrosives
Radioactive
Gases

Correct. Class 8 is corrosive materials — sulfuric acid, sodium hydroxide, hydrochloric acid, etc.

Question 12 of 20

Class 7 (Radioactive) materials require:

Special placards depending on the radiation level (I, II, or III), maintaining a Transport Index, and limits on aggregate radioactivity in a vehicle
No special handling
Only one placard
No documentation

Correct. Class 7 materials use Roman-numeral category labels (RADIOACTIVE I, II, III), placarded based on aggregate Transport Index, and have specific transport limits.

Question 13 of 20

A driver of a hazmat-loaded vehicle must check the tires:

Once before the trip
At the start of the trip and every time the vehicle is parked
Only at fueling
Never

Correct. Hazmat drivers must check tires at the beginning and again each time the vehicle is parked. A flat or smoking tire must be addressed before continuing.

Question 14 of 20

A driver's responsibilities for hazmat include:

Refusing to accept improperly marked, labeled, or leaking shipments; placarding the vehicle; following routes; carrying the shipping paper; responding to incidents
Only signing the bill of lading
Only delivering on time
Only refueling

Correct. The driver verifies the shipment, placards if required, carries the documentation, follows routes and parking rules, and handles incidents per training.

Question 15 of 20

During loading of cargo tanks of flammable liquid, the driver must remain:

Alert, within 25 feet of the cargo tank, with a clear view, ready to handle emergencies
Far away
In the cab with the engine running
At lunch

Correct. Driver must stay within 25 feet of the cargo tank during loading or unloading of flammable liquid and remain ready to act in emergency.

Question 16 of 20

A vehicle hauling explosives may not be parked within:

100 feet of an open fire, school, theater, or place where people gather
10 feet of any building
One block of a fire station
Any distance

Correct. Class 1 explosives have specific parking restrictions — at least 300 feet from open fires; never near schools, theaters, or places where people gather.

Question 17 of 20

When carrying hazmat through a state or local jurisdiction with route restrictions, you must:

Comply with the restrictions
Choose the shortest route
Take the highway always
Disregard local rules

Correct. State and local hazmat route restrictions are enforceable. Plan routes that comply with restrictions and avoid prohibited tunnels and bridges.

Question 18 of 20

After a hazmat incident, the driver should:

Notify the carrier and complete required reports
Drive home
Wait until the next trip to report
Throw away the shipping paper

Correct. Notify the carrier immediately. Federal incident reports may be required to PHMSA, depending on severity. Retain the shipping paper.

Question 19 of 20

You must notify your dispatcher and the carrier whenever:

You receive any traffic ticket
Any hazmat incident occurs
Anytime you stop
Anytime you fuel

Correct. Hazmat incidents — spillage, fire, contamination, injury, evacuation, or property damage — require immediate carrier notification.

Question 20 of 20

When transporting hazmat, you must check the cargo every:

Mile
100 miles
150 miles or 3 hours, plus changes of duty status
500 miles

Correct. Federal cargo securement: check at the start, then every 150 miles or 3 hours of driving, plus every change of duty status.

About the Florida Hazmat exam

Most states administer 30 Hazmat questions and require 80% to pass. The exam covers hazard classes, the shipping paper, placards and labels, loading and unloading, driving and parking rules, emergency response, and the Emergency Response Guidebook (ERG).

The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles follows the federal CDL standards established by FMCSA. To earn the Hazmat credential, you must answer at least 80% of the questions correctly. Many candidates score lower the first time because the test pulls from a large pool — refreshing this page will give you a different mix of questions, drawn from the same authoritative source.

Want more practice? Try the full Hazmat question bank or browse all Florida CDL practice tests.