Texas Defensive Driving

Yes, if you meet all six conditions in the statute. When you do, the judge is required to let you take the course rather than simply permitted to:

• You hold a Texas driver's license or permit — or you are on active duty in the U.S. military, or are the spouse or dependent child of someone who is.
• You have not completed an approved driving safety course in the 12 months before the date of the offense. The clock runs from the day you finished the earlier course to the date on your current citation.
• On or before the answer date on your notice to appear, you plead no contest or guilty and ask the court for the course. You can ask in person or through a lawyer, by certified mail with return receipt requested, or — if your court offers it — through the court's designated e-mail address or online portal.
• The charge is eligible. Speeding is excluded if you were clocked at 95 mph or more, or at 25 mph or more over the posted limit.
• You show evidence of financial responsibility, which usually means your insurance card.

More than one ticket from the same stop? Since 1 September 2025, if you were charged with several eligible offenses arising out of the same criminal transaction, one course covers all of them. Before that date a court could dismiss only one charge per course.

Sources: Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, Chapter 45A, Subchapter H; SB 296, 89th Legislature (effective September 1, 2025); TDLR notice on SB 296

The Texas Defensive Driving Course is a minimum of 6 hours as required by the TDLR. You can complete it online at your own pace over multiple sessions. Your progress is automatically saved, and the course includes required timers to ensure you meet the minimum time requirements.

Yes! Texas law requires insurance companies to offer a discount to drivers who complete an approved defensive driving course.

• The discount is typically 5-10% off your liability, collision, and/or medical payments coverage.
• The discount lasts for 3 years from the date of course completion.
• You can renew the discount by taking the course again before it expires.
• Contact your insurance company for the exact discount amount and how to apply it.

Upon successful completion:

• You will receive a certificate of completion that you can download immediately.
• For ticket dismissal: Submit your certificate to the court before your deadline, together with your certified Type 3A driving record from the Texas DPS.
• For insurance discount: Provide your certificate to your insurance company.

Source: Texas DPS, How to Order a Driver Record

A Type 3A is the certified list of every crash and violation on your Texas record, issued by the Department of Public Safety. DPS lists it as the only record type that can be used for a defensive driving course, so the uncertified Type 3 and the three-year Type 2A will not be accepted.

• It costs $10.00 and can be ordered online from DPS, or by mail on form DR-1.
• DPS does not issue driver records in person at its offices.
• Ask for the Type 3A by name. Ordering the wrong type is the most common way people miss a court deadline.

Most courts want the Type 3A alongside your completion certificate, but the record type and the timing are the court’s call, so confirm with the clerk on your citation.

Source: Texas DPS, How to Order a Driver Record

Yes. Our Texas Defensive Driving Course is approved by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) under provider license #CP1242, so it is a course a Texas court can accept for dismissal. Whether your particular charge is dismissed still depends on you meeting the eligibility conditions and on your court's own paperwork and deadlines.

Source: Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, Chapter 45A, Subchapter H

Once every 12 months — and the 12 months are measured between two specific dates:

• The period starts the day you completed your previous driving safety course.
• The period ends on the date of the offense on your current citation.

So what disqualifies you is having finished a course in that window, not having had a ticket dismissed, and the date that matters is when the new offense happened rather than when you were cited, went to court or enrolled.

During the deferral period the court will want your DPS driving record showing no course completion in those 12 months. Some judges instead collect a reimbursement fee and pull the record themselves.

Source: Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, Chapter 45A, Subchapter H

Texas requires driver safety courses to confirm the identity of the person taking the course. Before your first module, we email you a 6-digit verification code, which expires after 10 minutes. Enter it once and you will not be asked again for the rest of the course. If the code does not arrive, check your spam folder or request a new one from the verification page.

For more information about Texas driving laws, license requirements, and the defensive driving program, visit the Texas Department of Public Safety Driver License Division or the TDLR Driver Education & Safety website.