Driving Safety Course in Texas: Eligibility, Cost, and 90-Day Deadline

A driving safety course in Texas can wipe a qualifying traffic ticket off your record before it ever becomes a conviction. Under Article 45.0511 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, if you ask the court for permission, complete a state-approved course within 90 days, and submit the right paperwork, the judge dismisses the charge.¹ You can also take a course voluntarily, without a ticket, to earn an auto insurance discount.

Who Qualifies for Ticket Dismissal

Three conditions have to line up before a court will let you use this option:

You hold a valid Texas driver’s license or permit. Out-of-state licenses generally don’t qualify, though active-duty military members and their spouses and dependent children are an exception.
You haven’t completed a driving safety course for ticket dismissal within the 12 months before the date of your current offense. The clock runs offense date to offense date, not from when you finished the earlier course.
You aren’t already taking a driving safety course for another citation.

You confirm all three under oath. Article 45.0511 requires you to sign an affidavit swearing you aren’t currently enrolled in a course for a different ticket and haven’t completed one in the past 12 months that isn’t already reflected on your driving record.¹

Tickets That Can’t Be Dismissed This Way

Some offenses are excluded no matter how clean your record is:

Speeding 25 mph or more over the posted limit.
Passing a stopped school bus, under Transportation Code Section 545.066.
Construction zone violations under Transportation Code Section 472.022, such as disobeying warning signs or barricades.
Leaving the scene of a crash under Transportation Code Sections 550.022 and 550.023.

The option only applies to offenses within the jurisdiction of a justice or municipal court that involve operating a motor vehicle, so pedestrian and parking tickets are out.¹

CDL Holders Are Excluded

If you hold a commercial driver’s license, this route is closed. It doesn’t matter whether you were driving an 18-wheeler or your personal car when you got the ticket. Federal regulation 49 CFR 384.226 prohibits states from masking, deferring judgment on, or diverting any traffic conviction for a CDL holder, and Texas must record the conviction on your commercial driving record regardless of the vehicle you were in.² The rule applies in every state.

How to Request Permission From the Court

You can’t just sign up and start the course on your own. First you have to formally ask the court that has jurisdiction over your citation, usually the justice of the peace or municipal court listed on the ticket itself.

The request involves entering a plea of no contest or guilty. The judge enters judgment on that plea but defers imposing it, giving you 90 days to complete the course and turn in your paperwork. Finish and submit on time, and the charge is dismissed. Fall short, and that deferred judgment becomes a conviction.¹

What You’ll Pay

When you request the course, the court collects the standard court costs and fees for the underlying offense, which are set by Texas law and vary by violation and by court. On top of that, the court can charge an administrative reimbursement fee of up to $10 for processing your request.¹

Those fees are separate from the course itself and separate from your driving record fee. Budget for all three.

Your Type 3A Driving Record

You’ll need a certified Type 3A driving record from the Texas Department of Public Safety. This is the only record type accepted for a driving safety course. It’s a certified list of your crashes and violations, and it lets the court verify you haven’t completed another course within the past 12 months. Order it online through DPS and print or email it instantly. The fee is $10.³

What the Course Covers

Texas driving safety courses run a minimum of six hours. They cover traffic laws, defensive driving techniques, the dangers of impaired and distracted driving, and environmental awareness on the road. The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation approves providers and certificate templates.⁴

You can take the course in a classroom or online. Online versions use timers to make sure you spend the required time on the material and include identity verification. Most approved online courses cost around $25 to $50. Texas sets a minimum course price of $25.

When you finish, the provider issues a completion certificate bearing the TDLR logo. Check that the certificate lists the correct court, and sign it before you submit. Unsigned certificates get rejected.

Submitting Everything Within 90 Days

The court gives you exactly 90 days from the date it grants permission. You need to deliver two items:

Your signed certificate of completion.
Your certified Type 3A driving record from DPS.

Submission methods vary. Some courts accept documents in person at the clerk’s office, others take certified mail, and a growing number offer online upload portals. Frisco Municipal Court, for instance, lets you upload scanned PDFs of both documents through a web form.⁵ Check your court’s website for its accepted methods.

Once the court receives everything and confirms compliance, the judge dismisses the charge and the violation never appears as a conviction on your record.¹

What Happens If You Miss the Deadline

Miss the 90-day window and the court mails a written notice to the address on file, ordering you to appear and explain why you didn’t comply. If you show up and convince the judge you had good cause, the court may give you more time. If you don’t show up, or you appear without a good reason, the court enters an adjudication of guilt and imposes the original sentence. The violation goes on your record as a conviction, and the court costs and course fees you already paid are gone.¹

Don’t treat 90 days as a soft deadline. Order your driving record and start the course in the first couple of weeks. Providers occasionally have processing delays on certificates, and you want time to fix any problem before the clock runs out.

Deferred Disposition as a Backup

The Article 45.0511 course isn’t the only way to keep a ticket off your record. Article 45.051 offers a separate option called deferred disposition, where the judge places you on unsupervised probation for up to 180 days. Meet the conditions and the case is dismissed at the end of the period.⁶

Conditions vary at the judge’s discretion and can include restitution, completing a driving safety course, or diagnostic testing for alcohol or drugs. If you’re under 25, the judge is required to make you complete a driving safety course as part of the probation terms.

Deferred disposition is most useful when you’ve already used a driving safety course dismissal within the past 12 months and can’t use another one. CDL holders are excluded here too. Ask the court clerk which option fits your situation before committing.

Taking a Course Voluntarily for an Insurance Discount

You don’t need a ticket to benefit from a course. Texas Insurance Code Chapter 1952 requires auto insurers to offer premium discounts to drivers who voluntarily complete an approved course. The discount amount and duration vary by insurer, so contact yours before enrolling to confirm the reduction and how long it lasts. Some companies apply the discount for up to three years before requiring a refresher.

A voluntary course doesn’t count against your 12-month eligibility window for ticket dismissal. The two uses are tracked separately. Take a course in January for insurance savings, get a ticket in June, and you’re still eligible to take another course for dismissal.

1
State of Texas. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Art 45.0511 – Driving Safety Course or Motorcycle Operator Course
2
eCFR. 49 CFR 384.226 – Prohibition on Masking Convictions
3
Texas Department of Public Safety. How to Order a Driver Record
4
Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. TDLR Driver Education and Safety Certificates
5
City of Frisco. Driving Safety Course Completion Form Submission
6
State of Texas. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Article 45.051 – Suspension of Sentence and Deferral of Final Disposition