Kansas CDL for Custom Harvesters and Seasonal Drivers

Each summer, custom harvest crews work their way north through the wheat belt, and a lot of the drivers on those crews are young, seasonal and new to commercial rules. Kansas treats that work differently from a regular trucking job. The Kansas CDL system has a seasonal license, a younger minimum age for custom harvesting, and a separate set of permits for hauling harvest equipment. Here is how those pieces fit together and where crews get caught.

What is a Kansas seasonal CDL?

A Kansas seasonal CDL is a short-term commercial license for farm and harvest work. It is valid for 180 consecutive days, and holders may not operate a commercial vehicle more than 150 miles from the place of business or the farm served. Kansas gives you only one seasonal CDL per twelve-month period, and you must already have held a license for at least one year.

Seasonal CDL holders also have limits on hazardous materials. They may not operate placarded hazmat vehicles, with a few farm-friendly exceptions written into K.S.A. 8-2,146:

• diesel fuel up to 1,000 gallons;
• liquid fertilizer up to 3,000 gallons in certain vehicles or implements;
• solid fertilizer that is not mixed with organic substances.

What is the minimum age for a Kansas CDL for custom harvesting?

Kansas allows a CDL for farm custom harvesting operations in Class B and C vehicles at age 16. That is younger than the usual commercial minimum, and it applies to this farm work only. Kansas also has farm-use CDL exemption agreements with Nebraska, Missouri and Oklahoma, which matters when a crew starts the season in one state and finishes in another. Check the current agreements before you cross a state line, because they are specific to those neighbors.

What permits does a harvest crew need besides a CDL?

A license is only part of it. The Kansas Highway Patrol's custom harvester guide covers the rest of the paperwork:

• Custom harvesters are exempt from Kansas Corporation Commission authority for grain hauled 50 miles or less from producer to elevator or storage (K.S.A. 66-1,109(h)).
• Kansas-based farm-registered vehicles custom harvesting in Kansas can use a 30-day harvest permit under K.S.A. 8-143h.
• The interstate weight limit is 80,000 pounds, and the guide lists 85,500 pounds on non-interstate Kansas highways unless otherwise posted.
• The oversize harvester permit that allows two combine headers side by side is valid from May 1 to November 15.

Weight and permit rules are the part of harvest season that changes most from year to year, so read the current guide on the Highway Patrol site and not last season's printout.

How should a crew plan the Kansas season?

Treat the license, the permits and the route as one plan. Start by listing every driver and what each will actually drive: the combine hauler, the grain truck, the fuel truck. Then match each one to the right option. A teenager on the crew may be able to use the age-16 custom harvesting rule for Class B or C vehicles, an experienced local hired for one summer may suit the seasonal CDL, and anyone who will cross into Nebraska, Missouri or Oklahoma needs a hard look at the exemption agreements. Drivers who expect to haul fuel or fertilizer beyond the hazmat exceptions will need more than a seasonal license.

What happens at the Kansas CDL skills test?

The Kansas CMV skills test takes about one hour to one and a half hours, and scheduling is required, so you cannot drop in on harvest-week hopes. The modernized test has four exercises you will want to practice in your own truck or trailer:

1. Forward stop
2. Straight line backing
3. Forward offset tracking
4. Reverse offset backing

The Kansas Department of Revenue's CDL page is the place to find scheduling details and the current handbook. Pay attention to what vehicle you test in, because restrictions follow the test vehicle. Kansas restrictions include L (no air brakes) and E (no manual transmission).

Common mistakes harvest drivers make

• Assuming the seasonal CDL runs a full season on the calendar. It is 180 consecutive days, so the days count even when the truck sits idle.
• Planning a second seasonal CDL in the same year. Only one is allowed per twelve-month period.
• Hauling a placarded load that falls outside the diesel and fertilizer exceptions.
• Driving past 150 miles from the business or farm served on a seasonal CDL.
• Waiting until harvest week to schedule a test that requires an appointment.

Always confirm current Kansas CDL requirements with the Kansas Department of Revenue, Division of Vehicles, before you apply or test.