California Traffic School Online - Frequently Asked Questions

Not yet. Our California traffic violator school license is pending approval: LICENSE PENDING E####. Until the DMV issues it, we can’t report a completion to your court.

You can check any school’s license on the DMV’s Occupational License Lookup, and find every licensed school on the DMV traffic school list.

Source: DMV Occupational License Lookup; 13 CCR 345.44

It’s a traffic violator school course. If your court lets you go to traffic school for a ticket and you finish an approved course, the conviction is kept confidential and no point is added to your driving record.

Our course is online. It has 12 modules, at least 42,500 words in all, and a final exam (25 questions, 60 minutes, 70% to pass).

Source: Vehicle Code 1808.7; Vehicle Code 42005

• School: Defensive Drivers Institute LLC
• License: LICENSE PENDING E####
• Office: 111 E Arrow Hwy Suite 2, San Dimas, CA 91773
• Hours: Monday to Friday, 5:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. (Pacific Time)
• Phone: (833) 921-0217
• Email: info@defensivedriversinstitute.com

Your court decides. Courts can allow traffic school for most 1-point traffic infractions if you:

• hold a noncommercial class C or M driver’s license, and
• haven’t gone to traffic school for a violation in the 18 months before this one.

Your court notice tells you whether you can go and when you have to finish.

Source: California Rules of Court, rule 4.104; Vehicle Code 1808.7; Vehicle Code 42005

• Misdemeanors
• Violations that carry more than 1 point
• Alcohol- or drug-related violations
• Speeding more than 25 mph over the limit
• Any violation in a commercial vehicle

A missed court date can also make you ineligible until it’s resolved.

Source: California Rules of Court, rule 4.104; Vehicle Code 42005

Your court may still let you go if you were driving a vehicle that needs only a class C or M license. But if you hold a commercial driver’s license, the conviction won’t be kept confidential.

Source: Vehicle Code 1808.7(b); Vehicle Code 42005

No. One traffic school course counts for one eligible ticket.

Source: 13 CCR 345.48

We can’t promise that a court outside California will accept a California traffic school completion receipt. Ask that court first. For a ticket from outside California, the completion isn’t entered in the DMV’s database; you get a written completion receipt instead.

Source: 13 CCR 345.44(e)

You can still take the course to learn, but it won’t keep a ticket off your record. California law requires us to give you a consumer disclosure that explains this, and you sign it before you pay.

Source: Vehicle Code 11200(b); 13 CCR 345.36(a)(2)

Have these ready:

• Your name as it appears on your California driver’s license or ID card
• Your California driver’s license or ID card number (or your birth date if you have neither)
• Your ticket or citation number (court reference number)
• The name or code of your court

Without them, the course can’t be credited to your ticket.

Source: 13 CCR 345.44(b); 13 CCR 345.36(a)(1)

12 modules on California traffic safety, each followed by a short quiz, then the final exam. You can read the first module free on our course page before you sign up.

See the course and read the first module →

Yes. It’s 100% online and works on a computer, tablet, or phone.

Yes, after the 12 modules. The final exam has 25 questions. You have 60 minutes to finish it, and you need a score of 70% or higher to pass. If you don’t pass on your first attempt, you get a second attempt, which you must take within one week.

Source: 13 CCR 345.30

Yes. California requires every student to fill in the DMV’s course evaluation form (OL 767) before the course counts. Your answers don’t affect your completion.

Source: 13 CCR 345.30

We enter your completion in the DMV’s course completion database within 3 business days after you finish and pass the final exam, as California law requires. Your court gets it from the database.

You also get a completion receipt.

Source: 13 CCR 345.44

If you’re eligible and you finish, the conviction is kept confidential. No point is added to your driving record, and the DMV uses the record only for statistics. This doesn’t apply if you hold a commercial driver’s license.

Source: Vehicle Code 1808.7

$24.95 for the course. Your court charges its own fees, including a traffic school fee.

Not finished? You can get a refund.

Read our refund policy

No. The personal and ticket information you give us for the course is not used or shared for marketing.

Source: 13 CCR 345.36(a)(3)

Call (833) 921-0217, email info@defensivedriversinstitute.com, or use our contact page. Office hours: Monday to Friday, 5:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. (Pacific Time)