How long is the Class B to Class A upgrade course?

Because the upgrade course focuses strictly on combination-vehicle content, it runs much shorter than a full Class A ELDT. Most drivers finish in 15 to 25 hours, spread over a few evenings or a weekend. The curriculum is dense — every chapter teaches something you haven't already been tested on — so the time spent is high-yield.

Progress saves automatically across devices, and your completion is reported to the FMCSA Training Provider Registry the moment you pass the final exam. The compressed timeline matters specifically for drivers transitioning while still working their current Class B job — most drivers can complete the upgrade theory in evening sessions over a few weeks without needing to take time off work, which is how the upgrade economics typically work in practice.

The density of the upgrade course is a tradeoff worth understanding. Every hour covers material that genuinely matters for safe combination-vehicle operation, with no padding. Drivers who try to rush the course in a single weekend often find the content harder to retain than drivers who spread it across two or three weeks. The federal minimum-time requirements set a floor, but the optimal pace for retention is typically slower than the minimum. Drivers planning the upgrade should target a pace that allows time for the new concepts to actually settle rather than racing through to certification.