19a ncac 03J .0703       ADVERTISING

A commercial driver training school may advertise by whatever method it sees fit with the following exceptions:

(1)           The address of a telephone‑answering service, when it is not the same as the principal place of business of the school, shall not be shown in any medium of advertising or telephone directory. Nor shall any telephone directory listing or yellow page advertisement show a telephone number for a school unless it also shows a valid address for the principal place of business of the school.

(2)           No advertisement shall indicate in any way that a school can or will issue or guarantee the issuance of a driver's license or imply that preferential or advantageous treatment from the Division can be obtained.

(3)           A school may state in an advertisement that it has been approved and licensed by the Division.

(4)           Commercial driver training schools must use the full name, address, and telephone number of their school in all advertising. No advertising shall imply an offer of employment or guarantee employment upon completion.

(5)           If a school makes any job or earnings claims for any course in a media advertisement, the school must include the following disclaimer in this advertisement: "Graduation from this course does not insure that you will get a job. To find out how our graduates have done, send for our job placement record."

(6)           If a school makes any written job or earnings claims about any course, other than a media advertisement, the school must include in that document full disclosures of the school's graduation and placement rates required by Rule .0604 of this Subchapter.

(7)           If a school makes any general job or earnings claims for a new course, that school must make the following disclosure in lieu of those required in Items (5) and (6) of this Rule.

(a)           In media advertisement: "Since this course is new, we are not able to tell you about the experience of our students in getting jobs."

(b)           All other, non‑media advertisements: "Since this course is new, we are not able to give you information on the graduation or placement rates of our students, or the amount of money you might earn after completing this course. As an alternative, we suggest you talk to a job counselor or State Employment Office about your chances of finding a job in the field we train you for. They will have current information on job opportunities in the area where you live. In addition, they can offer you information on starting salaries and requirements for prior work experience."

(8)           Commercial driver training schools shall not use advertisements or promotional material which is classified, designated, or captioned, "Men wanted to train for....", "Help Wanted", "Employment", "Business Opportunities", or by words or terms of similar import, so as to represent directly or by implication that employment is being offered, nor shall the word "Free" be used in any advertisement.

History Note:        Authority G.S. 20-320; 20-321; 20-322; 20-323; 20-324; 20-325; 20-327;

Eff. May 1, 1987;

Amended Eff. August 1, 2002; January 1, 1994;

Pursuant to G.S. 150B-21.3A, rule is necessary without substantive public interest Eff. September 22, 2018.