Class A CDL Not Needed to Transport Ammonia Nurse Tanks

IFCA has received clear guidance from both the Illinois Secretary of State CDL division and the Illinois State Police enforcement division regarding the type of CDL needed to transport anhydrous ammonia nurse tanks.  There has been some confusion on this issue which we are happy to clarify as follows: 
 
1.  An anhydrous ammonia nurse tank is an implement of husbandry and as such, the weight of the nurse tank is not factored into the CDL weight classification.
 
2. Anhydrous ammonia is a placarded hazardous material and therefore a CDL with hazmat endorsement is required for a commercial entity (ag retailer) to transport the product.  Farmers or farm family members and farm employees are exempt from the CDL requirement when transporting nurse tanks to the farm.
 
3.  A Class B CDL with hazmat endorsement is needed for an ag retail employee to transport anhydrous ammonia nurse tanks, no matter what the weight or combination of the nurse tanks (1,000 or 1,450 gallon nurse tanks pulled in singles, in tandem or mounted side-by-side on a single running gear). 
 
4.  A restricted Class B Farm Service CDL is available to ag retail employees on a seasonal basis.  The restricted Class B CDL does not require a hazmat endorsement.  For information on obtaining the restricted CDL, the application is available on the IFCA website at www.ifca.com under "Regulations" then "Secretary of State" or call IFCA for assistance.
 
The confusion over this issues stems from a old chart that has circulated among our industry for years depicting various vehicle and nurse tank combinations and the licensing requirements.  On the chart it indicates that a Class A CDL with hazmat plus doubles and triples endorsement is needed to pull two 1450 gallon nurse tanks.  This is NOT correct.  The doubles and triples endorsement is only available on a Class A CDL and a Class A CDL is not needed to transport nurse tanks.  If you have this chart in your files we suggest you shred it and keep this Regulatory Alert instead to avoid confusion in the future. 
 
We are happy to provide this clarification to our  members and we have written guidance from our state agencies on file at the IFCA office on this issue.  If you have any questions, please contact Jean Payne at the IFCA office, 309.827.2774