You may attend a driving safety course once every 12 months for dismissal of a moving violation. The defendant must not have attended a driving safety course for dismissal of a citation in the twelve months preceding the date of the current citation.
When requesting driving safety class, the state fees of $144 ($169 for violations that occurred in a school zone) this includes a $10 administrative fee, before your case can be officially set up for the driving safety course option for dismissal. (Due to legislation updates, state fees are subject to change.)
You MUST first present to the court proof of current insurance and your valid non- commercial Texas driver license before we can process the paperwork for the defensive driving option. The insurance requirement cannot be waived if you do not own a car. THE POLICY MUST BE IN EFFECT AT THE TIME THE REQUEST FOR DEFENSIVE DRIVING IS MADE. A copy of the proof of insurance and the valid Texas driver license is placed in your case file.
You must complete a notarized plea form, and are required to enter a plea of no contest or guilty to be eligible to sign up for the defensive driving option. All defendants 16 years of age or younger are required to plea in open court with a parent or guardian present.
You will then be given 90 days to complete the driving safety course, and submit the original signed certificate of completion, along with the original certified copy (type 3A)of your driving record from the Texas Department of Public Safety to the court. Driving records obtained from sources other than the Texas Department of Public Safety are not acceptable for dismissal of the citation. You may request your driving record online at
TEXAS.GOV, request form type 3A.
If you have requested permission to attend a defensive driving school and then decide that you no longer want to take this class, you may pay the court the balance owed on the citation in full to dispose of this ticket. However, you must pay it in full prior to the required date to turn in the certificate and driving record or a warrant may be issued for your arrest.
Defendants may not attend driving school for: speed violations of 25 mph or greater over the speed limit, speeding in a construction zone, any violation received when driving a commercial vehicle, anyone that has received a moving violation and has a commercial driver license, failure to stop and give information, passing a stopped school bus (loading or unloading), reckless driving, eluding a police officer and/or any violation causing deadly injury. If you have a commercial driver license you are not eligible for this option.
When the original, signed court copy of your defensive driving certificate and certified driving record are received by our court, your case will be dismissed by completion of defensive driving. It is your responsibility to ensure that your documents reach the court by the required deadline; original documents can be mailed, delivered in person, or put in the drop box, in front of the court building.