Your commercial driver's license does not have a hazardous materials endorsement. When can you drive a vehicle hauling hazardous materials?

Not all vehicles carrying HazMat need to have placards. The rules about placards are given in Section 9 of California Commercial Driver Handbook. You can drive a vehicle that carries HazMat if it does not require placards. If it requires placards, you cannot drive it unless your DL has an “H” endorsement. [California Commercial Driver Handbook]