Here are the steps from the first class to your teen's driver license, in the order they happen. Each step shows where it happens, and the rules link to the DPS or TDLR page they come from.
1
Classroom
At this school
Texas classroom instruction is 24 hours. A teen can start at 14.
The first 6 hours are the traffic-laws class. Your teen learns what the road signs and signals mean, who has to wait at a stop or a light, and that a driver cannot drink and then drive.
Those 6 hours are enough to go for your learner license at DPS. The other 18 can finish while you practice.
A parent or guardian. If they cannot come, DPS takes an application they signed in front of a notary.
Who your teen is: a US passport is enough. No passport? Bring a certified birth certificate (not a photocopy), the Social Security card, and a school report card or school photo ID.
Citizen or not: a US passport or a certified birth certificate shows your teen is a US citizen. If your teen is not, bring a green card, or a foreign passport with a visa and an I-94 entry record.
Where your teen lives: two papers with a Texas address, such as a utility bill from the last 90 days and a lease. If they are not in your teen's name, fill out DPS form DL-5 and use your own papers. The birth certificate shows you are family.
Your teen's Social Security number. DPS looks it up, so know the number.
The classroom certificate from this school.
Proof your teen passed the written test. If it was not part of the class, your teen takes it at DPS.
The school's VOE form (Verification of Enrollment and Attendance). It shows your teen is in school.
Ask your teen's school for the VOE form close to your appointment. It is good for 30 days. If the school gives it to you in June, July, or August, it is good for 90 days.
At DPS your teen also takes a vision test, has a photo taken, and gives thumbprints. You pay DPS fees at DPS, not to this school.
This permit lets your teen practice on the road, with a licensed adult 21 or older in the front seat.
The school teaches 7 hours of driving and 7 hours of watching from the passenger seat.
Texas also asks for 30 hours with a licensed adult who is 21 or older and has driven for at least a year. Ten of those hours are at night.
A parent logs the 30 hours. The school does not give those hours.
A parent or guardian can ride one lesson for $45. Your teen drives, you sit in the back, and the instructor shows you how to handle those 30 hours. You still log the hours yourself.
Impact Texas is a DPS video. For a teen it is 2 hours. Do it after the driving hours, within 90 days of the road test, and print the certificate.
This school gives you the driver education certificate before test day. You can also do Impact Texas on your own device, or on a computer here. The school computer has its own price.
If you bring your own car, DPS asks for insurance, current registration, and two plates.
Or book a package here that includes the school's car.
Pass the road test here. This school helps you finish your license on the Texas.gov website.
You already went to DPS for your learner permit. After you pass the road test here, you finish your driver license on the Texas.gov website, so you do not go back to DPS.
If you are not a US citizen, you may have to go to a DPS office and show proof you are allowed to be in the United States, such as a green card, or a foreign passport with a visa and an I-94 entry record. DPS calls that proof lawful presence.
DPS sends the license. Until you are 18, you cannot use your phone while driving, you cannot drive from midnight to 5 a.m. except for work, school, or an emergency, and only one passenger under 21 can ride with you if they are not family.
Driving means you are behind the wheel with the instructor. Watching means you sit beside them and learn the same streets before it is your turn. The package cards add those driving hours up.
A woman instructor is available if you want one. Call or text the school to ask for her.
DPS-authorized road tests
You can take the road test here, in the school's car or in your own.
TDLR-licensed instructors
A calm, patient instructor, licensed by TDLR, stays with you until the move makes sense. You get time to try again and leave knowing what to practice next.
Dual-brake practice cars
The instructor has a brake on their side and can stop the car. You can try a new move while they keep the lesson calm.
Watch a lesson with your teen
Ride along for $45. The instructor shows you what to practice during the 30 hours.
Best when you are starting and the road test can wait.
7 driving hoursafter the permit, plus 7 hours of watching
Two phases, one booking
Phase 1
The 6-hour driver education class, before the learner permit. Your teen learns what the road signs and signals mean, who has to wait at a stop or a light, and that a driver cannot drink and then drive.
Phase 2
After the permit: 7 hours of driving with the instructor and 7 hours of watching. Your teen practices turns, lane changes, and parking in the school's car, and sees those moves first from the passenger seat.
How the lessons are split
The driving is 3 lessons of 2 hours and 1 lesson of 1 hour.
No road test. The learner permit, the 30 parent hours, and DPS fees are separate.
Best when you want the class, 8 hours of driving with the instructor, and the road test in one booking.
8 driving hours7 after the permit, plus 1 practice hour before the road test
Three phases, one booking
Phase 1
The 6-hour driver education class, before the learner permit. Your teen learns what the road signs and signals mean, who has to wait at a stop or a light, and that a driver cannot drink and then drive.
Phase 2
After the permit: 7 hours of driving with the instructor and 7 hours of watching. Your teen practices turns, lane changes, and parking in the school's car, and sees those moves first from the passenger seat.
How the lessons are split
The driving is 3 lessons of 2 hours and 1 lesson of 1 hour.
Phase 3
1 hour of practice in the school's car, then the road test in that same car, once the permit is 6 months old and your teen is 16, whichever date comes later.
The learner permit, the 30 parent hours, and DPS fees are separate.
Best when you want 12 hours with a patient instructor before the road test.
12 driving hours7 required + 4 extra + 1 practice hour before the road test
Three phases, one booking
Phase 1
The 6-hour driver education class, before the learner permit. Your teen learns what the road signs and signals mean, who has to wait at a stop or a light, and that a driver cannot drink and then drive.
Phase 2
After the permit: 7 hours of driving, 7 hours of watching, and 4 extra driving hours. The extra hours are more practice on turns, lane changes, and parking.
How the lessons are split
Those 11 driving hours are 5 lessons of 2 hours and 1 lesson of 1 hour.
Phase 3
1 more hour of practice in the school's car, then the road test in that same car, once the permit is 6 months old and your teen is 16, whichever date comes later.
The learner permit, the 30 parent hours, and DPS fees are separate.
Best when you want the most time with the instructor: 16 driving hours before the road test.
16 driving hours7 required + 8 extra + 1 practice hour before the road test
Three phases, one booking
Phase 1
The 6-hour driver education class, before the learner permit. Your teen learns what the road signs and signals mean, who has to wait at a stop or a light, and that a driver cannot drink and then drive.
Phase 2
After the permit: 7 hours of driving, 7 hours of watching, and 8 extra driving hours. The extra hours are more practice on turns, lane changes, and parking.
How the lessons are split
Those 15 driving hours are 7 lessons of 2 hours and 1 lesson of 1 hour.
Phase 3
1 more hour of practice in the school's car, then the road test in that same car, once the permit is 6 months old and your teen is 16, whichever date comes later.
The learner permit, the 30 parent hours, and DPS fees are separate.
