The letters on your driver’s license fall into four groups: the class letter telling you which vehicles you can drive, endorsement letters adding privileges, restriction letters limiting them, and short field labels like DLN, DOB, and EXP that mark where each piece of information lives on the card. A star in the corner is its own separate marking that handles REAL ID. Here is what each one means.
The Class Letter
The single most important letter on your card is the one printed next to “Class.” It tells law enforcement and employers exactly which vehicles you are qualified to operate. Classes A, B, and C are defined by federal commercial motor vehicle regulations and require a Commercial Driver’s License with specialized testing.1eCFR. 49 CFR 383.91 – Commercial Motor Vehicle Groups Classes D and M are set by the state.
- A — Any combination of vehicles with a gross combination weight rating of 26,001 pounds or more, as long as the towed unit weighs more than 10,000 pounds. Tractor-trailers sit here.
- B — A single vehicle weighing 26,001 pounds or more, or that same heavy vehicle towing something under 10,000 pounds. City transit buses and dump trucks are the typical examples.
- C — Vehicles that don’t hit the Class A or B weight thresholds but either carry 16 or more people (including the driver) or haul placarded hazardous materials.
- D — The standard non-commercial license covering passenger cars, SUVs, minivans, and light pickups. Almost every state uses the “D” label, though a few assign a different letter.
- M — Motorcycle authorization. Some states issue it as a standalone license; others add it as an endorsement to a Class D.
If your card simply says Class D (or whatever single letter your state uses for a standard license), you are cleared for ordinary passenger vehicles and nothing more.
The Star in the Corner
A small star printed in the upper corner of the card is the REAL ID marking. Since May 7, 2025, you need a REAL ID-compliant license (or an acceptable alternative such as a passport) to board domestic flights and enter certain federal facilities.2Transportation Security Administration. REAL ID The Department of Homeland Security recommends a gold star, though some states use a black star or other approved design variations.3Transportation Security Administration. REAL ID Frequently Asked Questions
If the front of your card instead reads “NOT FOR FEDERAL PURPOSES” or “FEDERAL LIMITS APPLY,” it is not REAL ID-compliant. It still works for driving and state-level purposes, but you will need another federally accepted ID at the airport. Enhanced Driver’s Licenses, issued by a handful of border states, display a U.S. flag and the word “Enhanced” and are accepted at TSA checkpoints even without the star.3Transportation Security Administration. REAL ID Frequently Asked Questions
Endorsement Letters
If you hold a CDL, extra letters may appear under “endorsements.” Each one grants permission to operate a specialized type of commercial vehicle beyond what your base class covers.
- H — Hazardous materials
- N — Tank vehicles
- P — Passenger vehicles carrying 16 or more people (including the driver)
- S — School buses
- T — Double or triple trailers
- X — Combined hazardous materials and tank vehicle (H and N together)
Every endorsement requires passing an additional knowledge test, and the P and S endorsements also require a behind-the-wheel skills test.4Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. CDL Endorsements (383.93) Driving one of these vehicle types without the matching letter is a serious violation that can trigger fines and CDL disqualification.
Restriction Letters
Restriction letters work the opposite way from endorsements: instead of adding privileges, they limit what you can do. Some apply to any driver, and others are CDL-specific.
Restrictions that can appear on any license:
- B — Corrective lenses required
- C — Mechanical aid required (hand controls, for example)
- D — Prosthetic aid required
- E — Automatic transmission only
- G — Daylight driving only
CDL-specific restrictions:
- K — Intrastate only (no commercial driving across state lines)
- L — No vehicles with air brakes
- M — No Class A passenger vehicles
- N — No Class A or B passenger vehicles
- O — No fifth-wheel tractor-trailer combinations
- V — Medical variance on file (the driver has an approved exemption from certain physical qualification standards)
CDL restrictions are tied directly to what happened during testing. Take your skills test in a truck with an automatic transmission and the E restriction goes on your CDL automatically. Fail the air brake knowledge test or test in a vehicle without air brakes and you get the L restriction.5eCFR. 49 CFR 383.95 – Restrictions Most CDL restrictions can be removed later by retesting in the appropriate vehicle type.
Field Label Abbreviations
Beyond classes, endorsements, and restrictions, the card itself uses short labels to mark each field. These trip people up when they are filling out forms.
- DLN — Driver’s License Number, your unique identifier in the state’s system. This is the number forms are asking for when they say “license number.”
- DOB — Date of birth
- ISS — Issue date (when the card was printed or last renewed)
- EXP — Expiration date
- END — Endorsements
- REST or RSTR — Restrictions
The exact abbreviations vary slightly by state, but these are the most common. If a job application asks for your “DL number,” it is the number next to “DLN” on the front of the card.
Letters You See on DMV Notices About Your License
A few more letter codes do not appear on the card itself but show up constantly on driving records and DMV correspondence tied to your license.
SUSP means your license is suspended. A suspension is temporary. Once you meet the reinstatement conditions (paying a fee, completing a course, filing proof of insurance), the license comes back.
REV means revocation, which is permanent cancellation. A revoked license is not reinstated; you would have to reapply from scratch, retake the written and driving tests, and meet whatever additional requirements the state imposes. Revocations are typically reserved for the most serious offenses, such as repeat impaired-driving convictions or vehicular homicide.
FTA stands for Failure to Appear and FTP for Failure to Pay. Skip a court date on a traffic ticket or miss the payment deadline on a fine and the court reports it to the DMV, which can place a hold on your license. These are among the most common reasons for unexpected suspensions, and they often catch people off guard because the original ticket may have been minor.
MVR stands for Motor Vehicle Record, the official driving history the state maintains for you. It lists traffic convictions, suspensions, revocations, and any active restrictions or endorsements. Insurers pull it to set premiums and employers in driving-related industries review it before hiring. You can request your own MVR through your state’s DMV, and checking it periodically is worth the small fee because errors are more common than people realize.
If anything on your license or your record looks wrong, contact your state DMV directly rather than relying on a form’s assumption about what the letters mean. The federal rules behind Classes A through C and the CDL restrictions are uniform, but state agencies control the day-to-day labeling and are the only ones who can correct it.