Missouri Driver Improvement Program (DIP): how it works

What does the Missouri Driver Improvement Program do?

It stops the points for one ticket from being added to your license. Missouri law calls this a stay of the assessment of points: the Department of Revenue accepts your completed course "in lieu of the assessment of points" (RSMo 302.302.5).

It does not erase the ticket. The Missouri Safety Center, which approves the courses, says the program "will not remove the ticket from the drivers record, only the points." You still pay the fine and court costs.

Who decides whether you can take it?

The court does. The Safety Center's instruction is that you "must appear in court and request the court's permission," and that the court decides "on a case by case basis." No course provider can approve you, and that includes us.

Ask before you plead guilty or pay. How to ask the court walks through it.

Which tickets qualify?

The law covers three kinds of points:

• Speeding (3 points under state law, 2 under a city or county ordinance)
• Careless and imprudent driving
• Other ordinary moving violations, which are 2 points each

It also covers the 2 extra points a court can add when a violation caused injury or property damage. Tickets such as driving while intoxicated, leaving the scene, driving while suspended and passing a stopped school bus are outside the program. The full list is in which tickets qualify.

Who can't use it?

• Anyone who holds a commercial driver license, in Missouri or any other state, or who was driving a commercial vehicle. See CDL holders.
• Drivers licensed in another state who get a Missouri ticket, and Missouri drivers ticketed in another state. See out-of-state tickets.
• Anyone who used the program in the last 36 months.
• Motorcycle riders ticketed on a motorcycle. They take an approved rider training course instead.

How long do you have?

Sixty days from the date of your conviction, which is the day you plead guilty or are found guilty. The 60 days are in the statute, so a court usually can't extend them. After you finish, the completion form has to reach the Department of Revenue within 15 days. More in the 60-day deadline.

What are the steps?

1. Get the ticket and respond by the court date on it.
2. Ask the court for the Driver Improvement Program.
3. Plead guilty. The court approves the program and you pay the fine and costs.
4. Take an 8-hour course from the Safety Center's approved list.
5. Get your completion form, MO Form 4444, from the course provider.
6. Take the form to the court clerk for a signature.
7. Mail it to the Department of Revenue, PO Box 200, Jefferson City, MO 65105-0200.

Steps 5 to 7 are covered in Form 4444.

Does the course have to be in a classroom?

No. The statute says you "shall be given the option to complete the driver-improvement program through an online or in-person course." Read your court paperwork anyway, because some orders name the format. See online or in person.

What does it cost?

You pay two things: the court's fine and costs, and the course fee. Our course is $24.99 with the certificate and completion form included. Nothing is added at checkout.

Is it worth it?

It depends on how many points you already have. Missouri suspends a license at 8 points in 18 months, and one state speeding ticket is 3. If you already have 5, a fourth ticket like that one suspends your license for 30 days. Check your points before you decide.