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Driver Safety Courses
If you are charged with a traffic offense, you may be eligible to ask the judge to take a driver's safety course to dismiss the charge. The request must be made on or before the appearance date on the citation. It must be made in person, by counsel, or by certified mail. (If you are under the age of 17, you must appear in open court with a parent or guardian to make the request). If you were operating a motorcycle, you may be required to take a motorcycle operator's training course. If you are charged with allowing a child to ride unsecured inn a safety seat belt or a child passenger safety seat system, you must take a special driving safety course that has four hours of training on child passenger safety seat systems. At the time of the request, you must do the following:
- Plead guilty or nolo contendere
- Pay court costs
- Pay a $10 administrative fee
- Present proof of liability insurance
- Present a valid Texas driver's license or permit. (Active military and spouses or dependent children of active military may present a valid driver's license from any state.)
To be eligible for a DRIVER'S SAFETY COURSE, you:
- Cannot have taken a driving saefty course or motorcycle operator's course for a traffic offense within the last 12 months from the date of the current offense;
- Cannot currently be taking the course for another traffic violation;
- Cannot be the holder of a commercial driver's license (CDL) or have held a CDL at the time of the offense; and
- Have not committed one of the following offenses:
- Failure to Give Information at Accident Scene;
- Leaving Scene of Accident;
- Passing a School Bus;
- A serious traffic violation, which applies to commercial motor vehicle operators;
- An offense in a construction or maintenance work zone when workers are present;
- Speeding 25 mph or more over the legal limit;
- Speeding 95 mph or more.
The State allows 90 days to complete the driver safety course and to provide the Court with a certificate of completion and a certified copy of your Texas driving record. You are not required to provide a Texas driving record if you have an out of state driver's license and have not had any other traffic violations in the State of Texas.
In order to obtain a copy of your driving record, please visit WWW.TEXAS.GOV to automatically print your (3-A version) driving record for a $12.00 fee.
The Court does not make arrangements for your attendance at the driving school, nor does the Court make any recommendations on which school to attend. The school of your choice must be certified by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR). For a list of the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation certified classes, including online classes, please click here.
If you do not present the required documents in time, the court will notify you to return to court and explain why you failed to complete the requirements. The judge may, but is not required to, allow you to file papers for an extension at that time. Your failure to be present at that show-cause hearing will result in a conviction, a fine being assessed, and a capias pro fine warrant being issued for your arrest.
If you have been cited for more than one traffic violation, the driver safety course can only be taken to dismiss one of those violations. You may set a court hearing to speak with the judge about further options.