Truck driver resume: a free template, three examples and the skills to list
By Evan Davidson, truck dispatcherUpdated Sources checked
What carriers look for in a truck driver resume
A recruiter reading driver resumes wants four answers fast: can you legally drive our trucks, have you driven this kind of equipment, how safe is your record, and will you stay. Everything on the page should help answer one of those.
Here's the part most resume sites skip. You'll fill out the carrier's own employment application no matter how good your resume is, and federal rules decide what that form asks. It must list your addresses, accidents and traffic convictions for the past 3 years, every employer for the past 3 years with dates and reason for leaving, and, for CDL drivers, the employers in the 7 years before that where you drove a commercial vehicle 49 CFR 391.21 Application for employmenteCFR (Office of the Federal Register), 2026. Checked 2026-10-27.Open the source.
Then the carrier checks. Within 30 days of hiring you, it must pull your driving record from every state that licensed you in the past 3 years and ask your past DOT employers about your safety history 49 CFR 391.23 Investigation and inquirieseCFR (Office of the Federal Register), 2026. Checked 2026-10-27.Open the source. So the best truck driver resume is one that agrees with the application and with what your old employers will say, line for line.
Free truck driver resume template
Download the template as a plain text file. It opens in Word, Google Docs or any phone notes app. Fill in the brackets, delete what doesn't apply and save it as a PDF.
Download the resume template (.txt)The template follows this order, which puts what a recruiter checks first at the top:
- Name and contact. City and state are enough; no full street address needed.
- License block. CDL class, state, endorsements, restrictions, medical card expiry.
- Summary. Two lines on what you drive and what job you want.
- Experience. Every driving job for 10 years, newest first, with equipment, freight, miles and safety.
- Training. Your entry-level training provider and date, plus later courses.
- Skills. Concrete ones, listed below.
- Driving record. Violations and preventable accidents for 3 years.
Truck driver resume examples
The three examples below use made-up people and companies. Copy the structure, not the facts.
Example 1: new CDL holder
Jordan Ellis (EXAMPLE) | Dayton, OH | phone | email
License: Class A CDL, Ohio. Endorsements: N, T. No manual restriction. Medical card valid to 08/2028.
Summary: New Class A driver, trained on a manual 10-speed, looking for a regional dry van job with home time on weekends.
Training: Entry-level driver training, completed 09/2026. Range and road hours on day cab and sleeper tractors with 53 ft trailers.
Experience: Warehouse associate, 2023 to 2026. Loaded trailers, checked bills of lading, ran a forklift. Zero missed shifts in the last year.
Skills: Pre-trip inspection, alley dock and offset backing, manual shifting, load securement basics.
Driving record: No moving violations, no accidents.
Example 2: experienced OTR driver
Marisol Reyes (EXAMPLE) | Joplin, MO | phone | email
License: Class A CDL, Missouri. Endorsements: H, N, T. Medical card valid to 03/2027.
Summary: Class A driver with 6 years of OTR reefer and dry van, no preventable accidents. Looking for a regional or dedicated job.
Experience: OTR driver, 2022 to now. Reefer, 48 states, produce and frozen. Ran 2,500 to 3,000 miles a week. Kept temperature logs and handled live unloads.
Experience: OTR driver, 2020 to 2022. Dry van, Midwest and Southeast, drop and hook.
Skills: Reefer setpoints and pre-cooling, trip planning around hours of service, ELD, tight-dock backing.
Driving record: No preventable accidents, one speeding ticket in 2023.
Example 3: local straight truck driver
Dana Whitfield (EXAMPLE) | Charlotte, NC | phone | email
License: Regular license, clean record. Medical card not required for current truck.
Summary: Local driver with 3 years on a 26 ft box truck with a liftgate, 12 to 18 stops a day. Studying for a Class B CDL.
Experience: Delivery driver, 2023 to now. Furniture and appliance delivery, liftgate and pallet jack, customer signatures and photos on the handheld.
Skills: Route planning, residential and commercial backing, liftgate safety, load sequencing by stop.
Driving record: No violations, no accidents.
Objective for a truck driver resume
An objective line works when it's specific. "Seeking a challenging position" tells a recruiter nothing. Name the license, the equipment and the job you want:
- "Class A driver with 2 years of flatbed experience seeking a regional flatbed job with home time every weekend."
- "Newly licensed Class A driver with tanker and doubles endorsements seeking a company driver job with paid training."
- "Experienced reefer driver seeking a dedicated grocery account in the Southeast."
If you've been driving a while, a two-line summary of your record usually beats an objective. Lead with years, equipment and safety.
Skills for a truck driver resume
Skip the words every resume uses, like hardworking and team player. List things a safety manager can check on a road test or in your file.
| Skill area | What to write |
|---|---|
| Equipment | Dry van, reefer, flatbed, tanker, doubles, car carrier, straight truck |
| Transmission | Manual 10, 13 or 18 speed; automated manual |
| Backing | Alley dock, blind side, offset, tight urban docks |
| Securement | Chains, straps, binders, tarps, load bars |
| Logs and tech | ELD brand you've used, hours of service trip planning, scanning apps |
| Freight handling | Live loads, drop and hook, liftgate, pallet jack, temperature logs |
| Customer | On-time record, paperwork accuracy, calm with receivers |
Endorsements belong in the license block, not the skills list, so a recruiter sees them in the first second.
How to show your driving record
Your record is the biggest single thing on a driver resume. Here's how to present it honestly:
- Say what's true in one line. "No preventable accidents in 4 years" or "One minor speeding ticket, 2024."
- Use the same dates everywhere. The application asks for accidents and convictions with dates. Your resume, application and motor vehicle record should tell the same story.
- Pull your own record first. Order your driving record from your state before you apply, so nothing on it surprises you in an interview.
- Explain gaps briefly. Time off for school, family or health is fine. One honest line beats an unexplained hole the carrier finds on its own.
Carriers also look at background checks, drug and alcohol history and past employers. Our guide to the truck driver background check explains each part.
Common truck driver resume mistakes
- Dates that don't match the application. The most common reason a resume backfires.
- Leaving out short jobs. A 3-month driving job still belongs on the application, so put it on the resume too.
- Two or three pages. One page, unless you have more than 10 years of very different driving.
- Generic skills. "Excellent driver" means nothing. "Manual 13-speed, tight-dock backing" does.
- Forgetting the medical card date. An expired card stops a hire on day one.
More early-career traps are in our list of rookie truck driver mistakes.
After the resume: the offer and the contract
When an offer comes, compare it in yearly terms with the truck driver salary calculator, and read the paperwork before you sign. Our guide to the truck driver contract covers training payback clauses and lease terms. If you're still getting your CDL, start with how to become a truck driver, and see what the job looks like day to day in our truck driver guide.
From company driver to owner-operator
Many drivers who write their last resume are heading the other way: buying or leasing a truck and running their own business. At that point your record still matters to brokers and insurers, but the job hunt becomes a load hunt. Our dispatch for owner-operators covers how that works with a dispatcher, and if your first truck is a 26 ft straight truck, see our box truck dispatch. The bigger picture of where driving can lead is in our truck driver career path guide, and our home page shows how dispatch works with you deciding on each load.
Browse more job and career guides in Trucks 101.
Sources: eCFR, 49 CFR 391.21 Application for employment (2026); eCFR, 49 CFR 391.23 Investigation and inquiries (2026).
Questions people ask
Do truck drivers need a resume?
Not always. Every carrier makes you fill out its own employment application, and federal rules spell out what that form must ask. A resume still helps: recruiters skim it in seconds, it shows you're organized, and it gives you a checked list of dates to copy into each application so your answers match every time. For local and specialty jobs it often decides who gets a call.
What should a truck driver put on a resume with no experience?
Lead with your license and training: CDL class, endorsements, medical card date and the training provider where you finished entry-level training. Then list any work that shows you're reliable, such as warehouse, delivery, farm or equipment jobs, with dates. Add your clean driving record and any skills from school, such as manual shifting or backing. Keep it honest and keep it to one page.
How far back should a truck driver resume go?
For driving jobs, go back 10 years. That matches what a CDL carrier's application must ask, since it covers 3 years of all employers plus the 7 years before that where you drove a commercial vehicle. Non-driving jobs older than 3 years can be cut or summarized in one line if space is tight.
Should I list my accidents and tickets on my resume?
You don't have to put them on the resume, but you must list them on the carrier's application, which covers accidents and moving violations from the past 3 years. The carrier will also pull your driving record. Many drivers add a short line such as no preventable accidents in 3 years when it's true, because it's the first thing a safety manager looks for.