What’s this TDLR Parent Taught Driver Education Program Guide?

So you’ve decided to sign-up for parent taught driver education.  Good choice.  But – what is the Parent Taught Guide or “packet” a teen needs to get started?  Well, as a Texas Teen who just finished parent taught drivers-ed, let me fill you in.

 

Parent Taught Driver Education (PTDE) is a state-approved driver education program in which your parent (or step-parent, grandparent, foster parent, or legal guardian) teaches you how to drive.  The great news is that PTDE has the same driver education content, standards, and requirements as driver education taken through a local driving school or public high school. Today in Texas, Parent Taught Driver Education is a super popular alternative for teens to learn driver education.

 

 

The Texas PTDE Program is regulated by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR). To get started, your parent must register for the Texas PTDE Program on the TDLR website, and purchase the TDLR Parent Taught Driver Education Program Guide. The Program Guide has all the information you and your parent need to get started. It outlines Parent Taught Driver Education in Texas and includes the important forms your parent must fill out and submit when you apply for your Texas Learner License and Texas Provisional Driver License.  Head’s up! The DPS Office will ask to review your PTDE Program Guide Receipt. You won’t be able to get your Texas Learner License without showing your receipt.

 

In addition, you and your parent get to choose and purchase a TDLR-Approved Parent Taught Driver Education Course, like The Online Driving Professor’s Texas Parent Taught Teen Driver Education Course.

 

 

How Can Your Parent Determine Eligibility

 

Before your parent purchases a PTDE Program Guide, they are responsible for making sure that they don’t have a criminal record or a driving record that would prevent them from teaching a parent taught course. The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) provides an Online Driver Record Request System for parents to verify if they are eligible to be a PTDE instructor. TDLR does not approve or deny parent driving instructors, but the Texas DPS will check your parent’s driving record when you apply for your Texas Learner License. To be eligible, your parent or guardian must be at least 25 years old, have a minimum of seven (7) years of driving experience, and held a valid driver license for a minimum of 3 years.

 

How to Purchase the TDLR PTDE Program Guide

 

Your parent can purchase the PTDE Program Guide on the TDLR Website. The guide costs $20 and is emailed to parents within 24 hours. Parents should check their spam and junk folders if they do not see the guide in their inbox after purchase. When registering on the online order form, a parent must enter your full legal nam. Correcting your name after registration will require written consent. After receiving the TDLR email, you should download the guide, and read it over carefully with your parent.

 

How to Purchase a TDLR-Approved PTDE Course

 

A list of TDLR-approved Parent Taught Course Providers, like The Online Driving Professor, can be found on the TDLR Website.  You can begin a course after you have the PTDE Program Guide and the course material from an approved parent taught course provider, like The Online Driving Professor.

 

 

What Forms Are Needed When You Apply for Your Texas Learner License and Provisional License?

 

When you apply for your Texas Learner License and Texas Provisional License, a parent-instructor must present the purchase receipt from the TDLR PTDE Program Guide.

When you apply for a Texas Provisional License, your parent must complete the 30 Hour Behind-the-Wheel Practice Log, found on page 11 of the PTDE Program Guide. This log is a required document when applying for a Texas Provisional Driver License. By the way, ten (10) of those hours must be night driving.

 

Ok – let’s review all the stuff you need to start Texas Parent Taught Driver Education:

 

1. Your parent must register with TDLR and purchase a TDLR Parent Taught Driver Education (PTDE) Program Guide.
2. You and your parent choose and purchase a TDLR-approved course, like The Online Driving Professor’s Texas Parent Taught Teen Driver Education Course.
3. Your parent assists you in learning and understanding the 32 hours of driver education classroom to help you receive your Driver Education Completion Certificate (DE-964) for completion of the first 6 hours of the 32 hour driver education classroom.
4. You pass The Official State of Texas Driving Knowledge Exam at a Texas DPS Driver License Office. Also, many approved courses, like The Online Driving Professor’s Texas Parent Taught Teen Driver Education Course, offer the test online as part of the course.
5. You apply for your Texas Learner License at a Texas DPS Driver License Office. You and your parent bring all the necessary documents needed to apply. A list of important documents is found on page 10 of the TDLR PTDE Program Guide.
6. Your parent continues to help you learn and complete the 32 hour driver education classroom and the 14 hours of parent taught in-car student driving observation and practice lessons to receive your Driver Education Completion Certificate (DE-964).
7. Your parent or another qualified adult supervises you while you complete the required additional 30 hours of behind-the-wheel driving practice. Your parent or guardian completes the 30-Hour Behind-the-Wheel Driving Log found on page 11 of the TDLR PTDE Program Guide.
8. You register online for the IMPACT Texas Teen Drivers course. This two hour course is free and required for all Texas Teens to complete before applying for a Texas Provisional Driver License. A completion certificate is emailed to you and your certificate must be presented to the Texas DPS Driver License Office as proof of completion before taking your Texas Road Skills Exam.
9. You apply for your Texas Provisional License at a Texas DPS Driver License Office. You and your parent bring all the necessary documents needed to apply. The list of required documents is found on page 12 of the TDLR PTDE Program Guide.

 

If you haven’t chosen an online driver education course, I highly recommend The Online Driving Professor’s Texas Parent Taught Teen Driver Education Course. Students and parents rate the course highly because it has quality content, is super easy to understand and navigate, is cost effective, and highly flexible with a teen’s busy schedule.  Get started learning driver education on your time schedule, on any device – laptop, phone, and tablet, and anywhere that works for you!