Texas Defensive Driving Course: Frequently Asked Questions

6 hours. Texas requires every approved driving safety course to run 6 hours, with at least 5 hours of instruction plus the required breaks, so no TDLR-approved course is shorter and a site advertising a faster one is not telling you the whole story. You can finish in one sitting or over several days; the course saves your place. How the time is actually spent is on our course length page.

For ticket dismissal, once every 12 months. The court cannot grant the course if you completed one for dismissal within the 12 months before the date of the new offense (Tex. Code Crim. Proc. art. 45A.352). The clock runs from your last completion date, not from the old ticket. Since September 1, 2025 one course can dismiss several eligible charges from the same stop. For an insurance discount there is no limit; your insurer sets its own renewal rule. Details on the 12-month rule page.

You qualify if you hold a valid Texas driver's license or permit (active-duty military and their dependents may use any state's license), request the course on or before the appearance date on the citation, have not used a dismissal course in the previous 12 months, carry proof of insurance, and were cited for an eligible moving violation (Tex. Code Crim. Proc. arts. 45A.351 to 45A.353). Not eligible: 25 mph or more over the limit, 95 mph or faster, a work zone with workers present, passing a stopped school bus, leaving the scene, and anyone holding a commercial driver's license. The eligibility checker walks through it in a minute.

Tell the court on or before the appearance date printed on your citation that you want to take a driving safety course, then pay the court's fee. Since S.B. 296 (September 1, 2025) you can request by certified mail, email or the court's online portal where offered, as well as in person. Request first, then take the course; a certificate dated before the court's approval may not be counted. What to say, with a letter you can copy, is on the how-to-request page.

90 days from the date the court grants it (Tex. Code Crim. Proc. art. 45A.351), not from the day you enroll. Courts can extend for good cause if you ask before the deadline. Many courts also set their own paperwork deadline inside the 90 days, from 10 to 180 days in our verified court data, so follow the date on the court's letter.

$28 all-in at Road Ready Safety, with the certificate included. By law every approved course costs at least $25 (Tex. Educ. Code §1001.352). Two costs are outside any course: the court's own fee, set locally when it grants the course, and the Type 3A driving record from Texas DPS, $12 online, if the court makes you order it. The full breakdown is on the cost page.

Yes. Road Ready Safety is a TDLR-licensed driving safety provider (CP1234), and the certificate is the uniform certificate every Texas court accepts. The court still has to approve you for the course before you take it; approval of the course and approval of you are two separate steps. You can verify any provider on TDLR's license search.

Download it the moment you finish. The certificate of completion appears in your account as an instant PDF with the court copy and the insurance copy, at no extra charge. You submit the court copy to your court, by email, upload, mail or in person depending on the court. TDLR notes a new certificate can take up to 5 days to appear in its validation tool, so submit with a few days of cushion. More on the certificate page.

The certified copy of your complete Texas driving record from DPS, and most courts require it with your certificate. Order it online at texas.gov for $12 and download it immediately; the uncertified Type 3 and the three-year Type 2A are not accepted. Your course provider cannot issue it. How to order the right one.

Yes. The course runs in a browser on a phone, tablet or computer with no app to install, and your progress saves automatically so you can switch devices. What it looks like on a phone.

No final exam. Each unit ends with a short quiz, and you get unlimited retakes. Texas requires a 70% mastery standard on the course's quizzes; the retakes are how you meet it without pressure.

Often, but it is the insurer's choice. Texas no longer mandates a discount; each company sets its own terms, and several large insurers limit it by age or exclude court-ordered courses. Ask your agent before enrolling, then send the insurance copy of your certificate. What each major insurer publishes is on the insurance discount page.

Not for dismissal. Commercial driver's license holders are excluded by federal anti-masking rules and Texas law, even for a ticket in a personal car; out-of-state license holders do not meet the Texas-license requirement unless they are active-duty military or dependents. Both can take the course voluntarily for an insurance discount, and deferred disposition may still be open for the ticket. See the CDL page and the out-of-state driver page.

Not yet. Our course is delivered in English. TDLR allows an approved provider to offer the course in Spanish once the translation is approved (16 TAC §84.504), and we are evaluating it. The process in Spanish and a waitlist are on the Spanish page.

Defensive driving is a statutory dismissal: meet the conditions, finish the course, file the certificate, and the charge is dismissed. Deferred disposition is a judge's discretionary probation of up to 180 days, after which the charge is dismissed if you stay ticket-free. Take the course if you qualify; use deferred when the course is closed to you. The side-by-side is on deferred disposition vs defensive driving.

Yes. If you have not completed the course or received your certificate, you can request a full refund. The policy is in our terms.