You’ll need to order the Parent Taught Drivers Ed Program Guide Packet for $20 from the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. This is a state requirement that you need to order this before beginning any coursework. It is not included in your purchase - the state does not allow us to sell the packet as part of a package.
Before ordering the packet, you need to check the state’s parent instructor eligibility requirements. You don’t want to put down an ineligible instructor because any work done under an ineligible instructor is invalid and you’d have to start the process over again. Here are the state's eligibility requirements to be a parent instructor:
- You are the student’s parent, step-parent, grandparent, step-grandparent, foster parent, legal guardian, or an individual designated by your parent/legal guardian/judge.
- If you use a designated individual as your instructor, there are a few extra requirements for them. They also need to be at least 25 years old; they cannot charge a fee for being your instructor; they need at least 7 years of driving experience, and they must meet the rest of the requirements below.
- You will also need to print out the Parent Taught Driver Education Instructor Designation Form (which you can download by clicking the attachment at the bottom of this article), complete it, and bring it with you to the DPS when getting your permit.
- You must have a valid Texas driver's license for the preceding three years.*
- You don't have a conviction or probated sentence of driving while intoxicated in the past 7 years.
- You don’t have a conviction or probated sentence of criminally negligent homicide.
- You haven’t had your driving privileges suspended, revoked, or forfeited for traffic-related violations in the past three years.
- You don’t have six or more points assigned to your driver's license.
*If the parent instructor has had a Texas license for less than the preceding three years, they are responsible for ordering a certified driver record from the state or country where they last had a license. The driver record should go back at least three years and the DPS will need to see the record when the student gets their permit. We recommend doing a quick Google search to find out from which government entity you order your driver record. Example: “Name of previous state or country where you last had a license + driver record.”
