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Yes.

Interstate truckers in the U.S. are required to read and speak English under guidance by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (MCSAP). 

The federal register states that interstate drivers must read and speak enough English that they can “sufficiently converse with the general public” and respond to official inquiries. English-speaking regulations for drivers first came into effect in 1937 under the Interstate Commerce Commission. In 2016 the Obama administration relaxed enforcement, but in April the Trump administration rescinded that directive.

Enforcement of the rules vary from state to state. The U.S. Department of Transportation claimed in a press release that California, Washington and New Mexico have failed to enforce English requirements for commercial drivers.

On Aug. 26, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced the federal government would withhold all MCSAP funding for these states unless they “adopt and enforce” English requirements within 30 days.

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Sreejita Patra joined Wisconsin Watch as a statehouse reporting intern in June 2025. She is currently pursuing a journalism major at UW-Madison’s School of Journalism and Mass Communication, where she is a rising junior. Sreejita works for Madison's student newspaper The Daily Cardinal and freelances for various Madison-based newspapers. She hopes to one day pursue investigative or features reporting, particularly on the South Asian diaspora.