Frequently Asked Questions

To get started, a parent or legal guardian must complete the required instructor application from the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR). Upon approval, the student can begin the online driver education course. After students complete Module 1, they can apply for a Texas Driver's Permit if they are at least 15 years old.

For further information, please visit the TDLR website.

After finishing Module 1 of the course, you can apply for your Texas learner’s permit at the nearest Texas DPS office. Upon receiving your learner’s permit, you are required to complete 30 hours of behind-the-wheel practice and log your driving hours. The course provides both the driving log template and instructions on how to submit your driving log. You can conveniently access and complete the course at your own pace.

You will be blocked from taking the final exam and graduating the course until we have verified that your driving log is complete. It takes up to 48 hours to review your driving log submission, and we will only reach out to you if there is an issue. After submitting your log, please check your account periodically to determine if your account has been unlocked.

When you start our Parent-Taught Driver Education course, you can download the PTDE guide. This document provides a detailed overview of the program, including core requirements, applying for a student’s license, behind-the-wheel practice and more.

Parent-Taught Driver Education is available to students 14-17 years of age who can be taught at home under the supervision of a qualified parent or legal guardian. Students 14 years of age may complete the first module of this course. But in order to be able to continue the course and apply for a Learner's Permit, the student has to be at least 15 years old.

Only a teen's parent, step-parent, grandparent, step-grandparent, foster parent or legal guardian may teach Parent-Taught Driver Education. The power of attorney is not sufficient. No other relative is permitted as an instructor.

In order to be eligible, the instructor:

• Must have held a valid driver's license for the past three years (individuals who lived outside Texas during any part of the last three years must bring the certified abstract driving record from their former state when the student applies for a license)
• Has not had his/her driver license suspended, revoked or forfeited in the past three years
• Has less than six points on his/her driving record
• Has never been convicted of or received a probated sentence for Driving While Intoxicated, Driving Under the Influence or Criminally Negligent Homicide
• Is not disabled due to mental illness

Instructors who are not sure if they meet the requirements should check their criminal record and driving record before signing up. If the TDLR determines an individual was not eligible to teach, none of the instruction will count and the student will not be issued a license.

For more information on eligibility requirements for Parent-Taught Driver Education instructors, visit the TDLR website.

This course fulfills requirements for the Parent-Taught option for required driver education and is approved by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. The Parent-Taught program is an alternative to classroom instruction and can be completed at your own pace, in the comfort of your own home and neighborhood with a qualified parent or legal guardian.

After completing the first module, students taking the PTDE course will take the permit exam. If the student passes our DPS-approved online permit exam, they will receive notation on their DE-964 (Rev. 10/16/23) 6-Hour Permit Qualification Certificate. This notation will allow them to bypass the written exam at the DPS when applying for their Learner's Permit.

Upon completion of the course, a digital certificate will be available on your course dashboard.

This course satisfies the state-required minimum of 32 hours of instruction. This does not include any required behind-the-wheel practice hours. Module 1, which must be completed to receive a learner's permit, will fulfill six of the 32 hours.

PTDE is a concurrent driver education course, which means you can apply for your Learner's Permit to begin on-the-road training after completing the first module.

The digital DE-964 (Rev. 10/16/23) 6-Hour Permit Qualification Certificate is available in the student's course dashboard after completing Module 1 of the Parent-Taught Driver Education course. Students will use this certificate as proof of Module 1 completion when applying for a learner's permit at the DPS.

No, there isn't an additional fee for taking the permit exam online through the PTDE program. The $25 exam fee is already included in the course package price.

The TDLR requires all students and parents opting for the PTDE program to request approval to complete the education by completing a TDLR application. After the parent/guardian applies to be a PTDE instructor, pays the $20 application fee to TDLR and receives approval, the student can begin the course. Once students complete Module 1 of the course, they can apply for their Texas learner's license.

To apply for a permit, the student and parent/legal guardian must bring all appropriate forms and documentation to the Texas Department of Public Safety office. This information, including all the necessary forms and the instructions for how and when to complete them, is included in your PTDE guide.

For more information, visit the TDLR website.

Students can start as soon as their parent or guardian receives approval from TDLR to be an PTDE instructor.

For more information, please visit the official TDLR website.

Students may elect to transfer driver education schools after completing Module 1. Visit the official TDLR website for more information on transferring.

The DE-964 (Rev. 10/16/23) 6-Hour Permit Qualification Certificate will be available in the course dashboard once the student completes Module 1 of Texas Self-Taught Online Driver Ed. Students will use this certificate as proof of Module 1 completion when applying for a learner's permit at the DPS.

Any Texas teen between the ages of 14–17 years old is eligible to take this course. Students who are 14 years of age may begin our Texas Online Driver Ed course and complete the first module (6 hours). But to continue beyond the first module and apply for a Learner's Permit, students must be at least 15 years old.

For those who are 18 years and older, you must take our Texas Adult Driver Education Course.

The state of Texas requires that everyone who pursues a Texas Driver's License must complete 32 hours of classroom instruction on driver education. This course is an online, single-student alternative to the required in-person classroom training. Texas Online Driver Ed can be completed at the student's convenience and in the comfort of their own home.

After the first module of Texas Online Driver Education, students will have the opportunity to take our online permit exam. Those students who pass the online exam can apply for their permits at the DPS without taking an in-person exam on location. If a student does not take or pass our online permit exam, they must pass the DPS exam in-person at the offices.

Since the state of Texas requires a minimum of 32 hours of classroom driver education training, the Texas Online Driver Ed course features 32 hours of online instruction.

The Texas Online Driver Ed course can be started immediately after signing up online.

The Texas Online Driver Ed program fulfills the 32 hours of required in-class training. This means that after the course, students have the option of completing the remaining 44 hours of required behind-the-wheel training with an eligible parent/guardian OR at a driving school with a certified instructor.

To satisfy the required 44 hours of behind-the-wheel training under the observation of a qualified parent, legal guardian, or instructor, students who have completed 32 hours of classroom instruction with our Texas Online Driver Ed Course can add our Behind-the-Wheel course. They can also choose to take their BTW training at a certified driving school, but many students opt for our BTW course to save money by training with a parent/legal guardian instead.

Understanding the main differences between the Texas driver education courses will help you make the right decision. Parent-Taught Driver Education is a parent-led course, and it satisfies the classroom and the behind-the-wheel driver education requirements. However, the online permit exam is an upgrade, and you are required to have a Parent-Taught Driver Education Program Guide.

Alternatively, Texas Online Driver Education is a student-led course. This course does not require a Parent-Taught Driver Education Program Guide and comes with the online permit exam. Note that the behind-the-wheel driver education requirement is a course upgrade and is not included in the initial price.

Adult driver education is for teens over 18-years old.

For a more detailed breakdown of the courses, please visit our driver education courses comparison page.

Students can apply for their Learner's Permit once they have turned 15 and completed the first unit/module of either the Parent-Taught Drivers Education or Texas Online Drivers Ed courses.

The Parent-Taught course will give you the option of taking the Learner's Permit exam online instead of at the DPS. The Texas Online Drivers Ed course already features the Learner's Permit exam within the program.

When applying for your permit at the DPS, you will need the following items:

• DE-964E Certificate (Earned after the first 6 hours (Module 1) of driver's ed)
• VOE (Verification of Enrollment and Attendance)
• Identification and residency documents

Students may log on and off as needed (even in the middle of Modules/Sections) at their convenience. All progress a student has made will be saved.

Before applying for a Texas Driver's License, students will need to complete 44 hours of live, on-the-road driver training (referred to as behind-the-wheel or BTW training) in addition to the 32 hours of required classroom training under the observation of a qualified parent, legal guardian, or driving school instructor.

BTW training includes:

• 7 hours of behind-the-wheel instruction
• 7 hours of in-car observation
• 30 hours of behind the wheel practice (including 10 hours at night)

The Parent-Taught Driver Education program is designed so that parents and qualified guardians may act as a student's behind-the-wheel instructor. However, students who take the Texas Online Drivers Ed course can also utilize a parent or a legal guardian by adding on our Behind-the-Wheel (BTW) course, which satisfies all Texas BTW requirements. Texas Online Drivers Ed students can choose to take their BTW training at a certified driving school, but many students opt for our BTW course to save money by training with a parent/legal guardian instead. Get more details here.

We provide a certificate of completion — for no additional charge — after students pass the course. The digital certificate will be available in your course dashboard. We do not offer paper certificates.

We've created a special page for our users to review our courses, share their experiences or alert us to any issues that call for extra support. Visit https://reviews.texasdrivingschool.com if you would like to submit a review and please make sure to leave your e-mail address if you need a response from our customer care team.

The main differences between these two programs are as follows:

1. Before applying for a Texas Driver's License, students need to complete 44 hours of behind-the-wheel (BTW) training (in addition to the 32 hours of required classroom training) under the observation of a qualified parent, legal guardian or instructor. The 44 hours of BTW training are built into the PTDE course with the parent/legal guardian acting as the driving instructor, while BTW training is not included with the self-taught Texas Online Drivers Ed course. However, self-taught students can either complete the required BTW instruction with a licensed driving school in their area, or they can satisfy this requirement by adding our Behind-the-Wheel course. Doing so can save money, as a parent/legal guardian can teach this required training, meaning the student does not have to take their BTW course at a traditional driving school, which can be costly.
2. With the PTDE program, each student and parent are required to request approval to complete the parent-taught driver education by completing a Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) application. Once approved, the TDLR will send you a Parent-Taught Driver Ed Program Guide filled with information and forms. The guide cost is $20.00 which is paid directly to the TDLR.

In addition to taking the road test at the DPS, the following documentation must be presented at your DPS appointment:

• Your certificate of completion from Texas Driving School
• Your certificate of completion from Impact Texas Teen Drivers program

For Texas Online Drivers Ed students:

Completion certificate(s) for behind-the-wheel training (44 hours) from a certified driving school or from our Behind-the-Wheel course.

• 7 hours of in-car observation
• 7 hours of in-car instruction
• 30 hours of in-car practice

For PTDE Students:

All completed forms from the PTDE Program Guide (only applies for parent-taught course students)

• Identifying documents:
  • Proof of Identification
  • Proof of Social Security Number
  • Proof of US Citizenship
  • Proof of Texas Residency
  • A Verification of Enrollment and Attendance form to verify school enrollment (or a high school diploma or GED).
• Proof of Texas vehicle registration and proof of financial responsibility for vehicle owner or a statement that the student does not own a vehicle.

If you are taking the PTDE course, your required behind-the-wheel training is included in the program, so you do not need to obtain any additional driving instruction. The behind-the-wheel driver education is not included with the Texas Online Driver Ed course. However, you can satisfy this requirement with our Texas Behind-the-Wheel course, available as an upgrade.

Our driving courses are 100% online, so students can log on and off as needed — even in the middle of Modules/Sections — at their convenience. All progress a student has made is saved.

You will receive your certificate of completion in your course dashboard as soon as you complete the course.

The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) requires teen drivers to complete the Impact Texas Teen Drivers (ITTD) program before they take the behind-the-wheel portion of their driving exam. The course is a free two-hour video designed to reduce crashes caused by distracted driving. You can sign up for the ITTD course on the Texas DPS website.

The program is mandatory for teens ages 15 to 17 who completed a teen driver education course or a parent-taught driver education course. Adults ages 18 to 24 who took a teen driver education course are also required to complete Impact Texas Adult Drivers, a similar program.

When you finish your course, the Texas Department of Public Safety will email you a certificate of completion. You must print the certificate and bring it to the driver license office when you're ready to take your driving skills exam. The certificate will expire 90 days after you complete the course.