How to Start a Driving School in Texas: A Step-by-Step Guide

Compared to many states, Texas makes it relatively easy to establish a driving school. The licensing process is clearly laid out in the regulations, and the regulations themselves do not lay a heavy burden on your operations.

Texas driving schools may offer classroom instruction, behind-the-wheel training, or both. It will be up to you to create the program which best meets your needs and those of the people in your potential market.

How to open your driving school in Texas

Schools need to be licensed, but the owner does not need to be a driving instructor.
Driving instructors require a separate license and training.
Your location may be just about anywhere, but you may not operate your driving school exclusively out of your home—you must have an office in a separate location.
You will need to retain student records for at least three years following the end of instruction.
You must have written contracts with students; Texas provides a sample.
Texas allows driving schools to teach the state-required curriculum; students under 18 must have 32 hours of classroom instruction, 7 hours of observation time in a vehicle, and 7 hours behind-the-wheel.
You may offer the 6 hour adult education course for new drivers aged 18-24.

Driving School Licensing and Requirements

General requirements

To operate a driving school in Texas, you will need to be licensed by the state. Licenses are valid for 1 year from the date of filing with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) . Applications must use the Departments forms, which will be linked below.

Be guided by the Checklist the TDLR provides. It will ensure you fulfill your obligations.

Your application packet must include:

A completed application form–which included many of the forms noted below..
A bone or other form of security in the amount of $10,000 plus $5,000 per branch.
A staff roster.
A list of vehicles and copies of the insurance declarations pages noting coverage for those vehicles.
The motor vehicle fleet form (in the packet).
A school course list.
Your curriculum if you have created your own.

The Texas Regulations for Driving Schools are fairly straightforward.

Texas requires the following minimum liability insurance coverage:

$30,000 per injured person, up to $60,000 per accident.
$25,000 property damage per accident.
Uninsured motorist coverage.

If you have employees, you must carry workers’ compensation insurance covering them–and you–in the event of injury while on the job.

Driving School Owner’s License

Texas imposes few personal requirements to receive a driving school owner’s license. Your business itself may be a sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, or limited liability company. You will have to provide information on all owners of the driving school.

Driving Instructor’s License

While no specific requirements are set for driving school owners, instructors must demonstrate qualification before they receive a license from Texas. The application form outlines the process for getting the instructor’s license. The requirements for a driving school instructor’s license in Texas include:

Hold a high school diploma or the equivalent.
Possess a valid driver’s license which has not be revoked or suspended in the past three years.
Submit to a national criminal background check, and provide fingerprints to the Texas Department of Public Safety.

Driving instructors have a variety of titles in Texas. To serve as the teacher of record, you must possess a Texas teaching certificate and an official transcript showing

15 semester hours of driver and traffic safety education for a “supervising driver education teacher” title, or
9 semester hours of driver and traffic and safety education for a “driver education teacher” title.

These titles give you the most flexibility. The other titles include teaching assistant, teaching assistant-full, and supervising teaching assistant-full. The latter two allow you to assist in the classroom, but instruction must be endorsed by the teacher of record.

Location

You are generally free to establish your business anywhere you see fit–meeting the requirements outlined below. You can choose to have classroom space, or you may conduct classroom driver education at off-site locations, including local public or private schools. Your contract with the school should be included in your license application.

Your location and facilities must be approved by the TDLR before you open. You may not base your office out of your residence. Your space must be appropriate for your offerings, and comply with local and space zoning, housing, and safety ordinances.

Classrooms must provide adequate space for students, and no class may hold more than 36 students. Adequate lighting and comfort, as well as writing facilities, are required. Your school should not be located in a building which houses a business which either requires exclusion of persons because of age or is adult-oriented–or a bar.

You will have to provide notice of the name, mailing address, and phone number of the Department in case of complaint. It should be on the contract, and you probably should also post the Department’s sign in your office. While it doesn’t seem required, displaying your license, as well as those for your instructors, is probably wise, also. You will have to post your most recent state inspection results.

You will need a secured area in which to store certificates of completion. The TDLR recommends a safe, locked server room, key card-only store room).

Don’t ever give a student or parent the impression that your instruction guarantees receiving a driver’s license–you may mention your pass rate.

Records and Contracts

You will need to keep student records for at least three years. For twelve months, they must remain at the site of instruction. Thereafter, all records may be kept in any location accessible to the school owner.

Records include

Timecards of instructors
Schedules reflecting duties and instruction times for your instructors which correlate to the timecards.
Daily attendance records, indicating presence/absence, makeup status, date, and time

You need to create a student record which contains the following information:

Name and classroom address
Full name and contact information of the student, including date of birth.
Date of instruction termination
Type and license/permit number
Dates and times of instruction–both classroom and behind the wheel
Each behind the wheel lesson description and grade
Grades earned
Instructional hours
Initials of each instructor providing either classroom or behind-the-wheel instruction.
Beginning/ending dates of the classroom phase.
Signatures of student and instructor the the record is accurate.

You must have written contracts with your students. The contract must contain a range of information which adequately describes the contract between the school and student.

The Driving School Curriculum in Texas

Texas mandates the specific topics covered by the curriculum for every driving school, both for the in-class as well as the behind-the-wheel portions of driver’s education. You are, of course, free to add information.

Instruction is limited to five hours per day, and classroom instruction may not exceed 2 of those 5 hours. The 3 hours of in-car instruction may include no more than 1 hour of behind-the-wheel instruction. The other two hours may be in a simulator or in multicar range instruction.

Your Texas driving school must have a makeup lesson policy which meets the following requirements:

In-class makeup sessions must cover the same lesson missed by the student.
Make-up lessons, allowing the student to complete the work outside of classroom time, must be prepared and submitted to the Department along with your curriculum.

Texas Driving School Classroom Instruction

Your classroom course must last for at least 32 hours, and your course must be organized as follows:

You are allowed 5 minutes’ break for each hour, and no more than ten minutes of break can be accumulated (thus you could offer a 4-6 pm session with a 10 minute break).
You may have no more than 36 students in a given section of the class (although you could have two separate sections running consecutively or at the same time if you have a second classroom).
Videos, recordings, guest speakers, and other media may take up no more than 640 minutes of class time. Powerpoint slides or other similar presentational media (Prezi) are instructional aids and thus do not count as restricted media.
Self-study assessments may be used, but may take up no more than 25% of class time, and must be administered to all students together.
You should refer to the regulations to make sure your course meets all state requirements

If you are writing your own driving school curriculum, Texas expects the classroom portion of the course will cover the following topics; you will have to provide an outline of your curriculum as part of your application.

One way of making sure your curriculum meets requirements is to follow the Texas Education Agency’s Program for Organized Instruction. The POI has a VERY detailed breakdown on required topics and times to be alloted to them.

Your course must have the following modules:

Knowledge of the Texas motor vehicle and traffic laws
Driver preparation before driving
Vehicle movements
Driver readiness including fatigue and aggressive driving
Risk reduction
Environmental factors
Distractions
Drugs and Alcohol
Adverse conditions
Vehicle requirements
Consumer responsibility and organ donation
Personal responsibility

Behind the Wheel Driving Instruction in Texas

Your in-car phase of instruction must include 7 hours of student driving behind-the-wheel and 7 hours of in-car observation. You may provide one-on-one in-car instruction, but parents may opt-out freely.

In addition, students will need to complete an additional 30 hours of driving, including 10 at night, with a licensed supervising adult who is at least 21 years old and has held a driver’s license for at least one year. Texas provides a guide to parents and others for these 30 hours, and parents of minors will have to certify the log, regardless of the supervising driver’s identity. No more than ONE hour of supervised driving in a day counts.

Four hours of simulator time may be substituted for 1 hour of behind-the-wheel and 1 hour of observation time. 2 hours of multicar range driving instruction may be substituted for 1 hour of behind-the-wheel and 1 hour of observation time. A minimum of four hours of behind-the-wheel instruction MUST be provided.

Adult Driver Education

Driving schools in Texas may also offer a six hour course for new drivers aged 18-24. You will need

State approval for the course.
Contracts between the driving school and student.
Maintain student records.

The six-hour course must cover the following topics (with minimum times required by the state):

Introduction and the License (30 minutes)
Right-of-way (50 minutes)
Traffic control devices (40 minutes).
Controlling traffic flow (40 minutes)
Alcohol and drugs (50 minutes)
Cooperating with other roadway users (50 minutes)
Managing risk (50 minutes)
Progress assessment (25 minutes)

Commercial Driver’s License Instruction

Providing instruction for students pursuing a CDL in Texas generally follow those for the regular driver’s license. In this section, we’ll note the key differences.

Information

Truck driver training instructors must complete a 40 hour instructor development course, which covers certain set topics:

Techniques of instruction
Personal factors affecting truck drivers
Texas motor vehicle laws
Driving procedures
Physics and vehicles
Highway effects
Automotive systems
8 hours of behind-the-wheel safety training
Specialized training

During your behind-the-wheel portion of CDL training, you may not allow more than four persons, plus the instructor, to be in the vehicle.

The process for applying is outlined in the Texas Workforce Commission’s Original Application checklist. The forms needed are all available online.

Starting a Small Business in Texas

Your driving school is not just subject to the requirements for driver’s education in Texas. You also need to establish your Driving School as a small business, and have to consider a number of factors. The form of business you take up, as well as the procedures, are appropriate topics of conversation with your lawyer and accountant. The considerations we offer here are not legal advice, but should provide you with things to think about as you set up your business.

Business Registration

All businesses need to register in Texas, especially the business name—the “doing business as” certificate. Banks may not be willing to set up your account until you have that DBA form. We’ll include where to register in the business structures below.

You will also need to obtain a Federal Employer Identification Number. Banks may need it for your business accounts, and you may be wanting to employ people. To obtain an EIN, go to the IRS website and complete the application form you find linked there.

You will also need to research whether you have any tax responsibilities to Texas or any county or local government.

Business name

Before you get going, you’ll want to check to see if the business name you want is in fact available in Texas. You can search the Texas database, as well as visit the office of the county recorder.

Once you know your business name is available, you can reserve it online with the Secretary of State–if you’re forming a corporation or LLC.

Texas provides a short guide to forming a new business in the state; it should not replace conversations with your accountant or attorney.

Sole Proprietorship

Owning your own business is the easiest one to set up, but also may open you to liability concerns. As a sole proprietor, your business is simply part of your life. You keep a separate set of books, and complete a Schedule C for your 1040 form every April.

Sole proprietorships can expose the proprietor for full liability, even with insurance. That may mean that if you are sued, you may lose your home and property, as well as your personal bank accounts and other assets. This risk may not be worth the ease and independence.

In Texas, the big step you have to take is to register your Assumed Business Name with the clerk of the county for each county in which you have a business premise. Each county uses its own form–stop by the clerk’s office to get it. While you’re there, you should also search for the name in case someone else has already used it.

Corporations and LLCs

You may set up a full corporation (“Inc.”) as your business structure. Corporations limit your liability for loss to your investment in it, as a general rule (although banks may require you to be obligated personally if you take out a loan to get your business going). This form of business keeps your personal assets safe.

As an owner of a corporation, you’ll have to set up your driving school consistently with the rules for corporations in Texas–those rules can be found at <this state run website>. You’ll also have to decide whether to be an S Corporation or a C Corporation. Generally, the S Corporation form is set up for small businesses. It allows income and taxes to pass through to the owners. You will want to discuss these forms with your attorney and accountant.

You may be able to set your driving school up as an LLC in Texas. The LLC form provides the same limited liability as a Corporation, but do not have to comply with the corporate formalities most states require, including items like bylaws, required stockholder meetings, and minutes (although minutes of meetings are probably a good idea).

You’ll have to discuss the advantages and disadvantages for the LLC with your attorney and accountant.

Both Corporations and LLCs file with the Secretary of State. In addition to name reservation, you’ll need to submit the following.

Corporations submit Certificates of Formation for a For-Profit Corporation
LLCs submit Certificates of Formation for an LLC.

Now What Do I Do?

Once you’ve complied with all the legal requirements to be both a driving school and a small business in Texas, you need to get students.

Getting students requires marketing—largely on the internet. You will need the following systems set up to obtain students:

A website—focused on the types of students you want to attract, and aimed at your locality.
The website should also include a blog, which allows you write about a variety topics and engage in Search Engine Optimization—which will drive traffic to your site.
A Facebook page, linked to your website, to become noticed and drive traffic.
Getting testimonials from successful students.

Marketing is something you will have to devote time to. DrivingSchool.Marketing can help you get the best bang for your marketing buck.

Conclusion

Disclaimer: This page is part of DrivingSchool.Marketing’s series of state and provincial pages designed to help entrepreneurs like you start driving schools. States change their regulations, or the web pages they host their forms. While we believe these rules are accurate as of the date of publication, we cannot guarantee full accuracy. Please let us know if you spot any problems.

Start Your Successful Driving School (In 10 Easy Steps)

Driving is an important skill requiring quality instruction and practice. People learning to drive creates a great business opportunity–starting a driving school.

Like any new small business, this process requires patience, time, and money. It also requires working through your state’s requirements, and creating a marketing plan to get the word out.

Once you get things going, however, you’ll find that success is almost inevitable. The hard work you’ve put it will pay off. Some of these steps take time–that’s ok. You will be ready to go from the day you get your driving school license.

10 steps for starting your driving school

1. Research the licensing requirements in your state.

Your research stage might be the most complicated, but also the most necessary. Each state regulates driving schools in its own way, from the complex (such as New York) to the simple. Most states will provide the forms you need to complete, as well as full information about how to become licensed as a driving school and instructor.

In most states, however, the process is fairly straightforward, although it will take some time. That time can also be used to take care of the other 9 steps for starting your school.

You will also need to decide on your business structure. In most states, you can get going using any structure, but you should consult your attorney or accountant before you commit to one. Common structures include

Sole proprietorship–the business is part of you, but you will be liable for anything which goes wrong.
Corporation–this is the most complex form, but will shield you from liability other than what you’ve put into the business.
Limited Liability Corporation–the LLC is a mix of the two, sort of. You have limited liability, but avoid some of the complications of being a corporation.

Your accountant and lawyer will help you create the best business structure for you..

Look for these Requirements in Your State

Other requirements you might have to meet to be a driving school owner or instructor include:

A place of business meeting state regulations.
Passing written/road tests.
Taking driver education classes.
Posting surety bonds with the state.
Submitting to a criminal background check.
Providing minimum levels of insurance on all vehicles you use.
Specific forms of contract or records which you must keep.

Some states require you to have a separate office from your residence, even if you are engaged in behind-the-wheel driver training only, while other states permit a home-based driving school.

The key is finding out what your state allows, requires, or prohibits as you create your driving school.

2. Research your market

Your market is the number of potential students in your area. Find all you can about the demographics of your area–the number of high schools, the student populations at all levels in local schools and/or school systems, as well as the availability of driver education and driving instruction in those schools.

These factors will help you decide which towns/counties you will offer driving instruction in, as well as the kinds of instruction you offer. In states which make a significant public school commitment to driver’s ed, you may want to consider behind-the-wheel training only, as most states also require new teen drivers to have 40 or 50 hours of practice driving.

Your market also includes other driving schools and their services. You want to consider the established competition before you select the magic location. Taking a map and locating high schools and driving schools on it may help you find the perfect location.

Look at their prices and how busy they are–some may even be willing to speak with you. Their prices and business will give you at least a guide to what you’ll be able to charge.

3. Determine your marketing strategy

Figure out how you’re going to your marketing You will want to plan both your initial rollout to get the word out, as well as long-term marketing.

At the very least, you’ll want a website. People search for driving schools on the internet, and you want them to find you there. There are many winning strategies for marketing, and you’ll want to explore them all. DrivingSchool.Marketing can help you build your site and conduct internet marketing campaigns.

A Facebook presence in conjunction with your website is an excellent strategy. Your automated Facebook campaign will refer people to your website. At the website you include a “Call to Action” asking them to contact you to set up lessons.

Your vehicles are probably required by your state to carry your school’s name–but even if they aren’t, you should take advantage of the mobile exposure you can get from your cars being out on the road during the course of lessons.

Business cards are crucial in marketing. Leave them widely scattered in your area; some schools may let you leave them there. Car dealers and mechanics are places for traditional advertising, but your best bet is a strong website and Facebook “search engine optimized” campaign for your driving school.

Finally, most local papers will provide you with free advertising when you start–in the form of a press release. Make sure an article about your new school is in the local paper right around the time you open.

Many states will not allow you to market until you have your license–keep that restriction in mind if it applies to you. But you can certainly plan your campaign and get it ready to go.

4. Crunch Your Numbers

Once you know your market as well as your marketing plan, figure out how much it will cost to operate in all aspects of your business. You’ll have to look at a range of information to determine this.

Your rent
Leases on your vehicles
Gas
Insurances
Utilities on the office
Marketing costs
Wages/salaries
Payroll taxes

Some of these expenses, of course, will be based on informed guess work, while others–such as your rent–you will be able to determine for the first–and future years.

You will probably want to start with a cash reserve as you build your driving school business.

5. Price Your Services

Once you know what expenses you need to cover, you can determine what you need to charge. You researched what other nearby schools charge back when you were planning your school.

Play with a variety of income numbers to determine what you need to charge to cover your expenses, as well as what you can charge in your market. Ideally, you’ll be able to charge significantly more than your expenses and costs.

You may want to create a variety of plans and courses. You will know whether you can provide classroom driver’s education (or want to provide it) as well as what behind-the-wheel expectations your market has. Many schools provide 3, 6, and 12-lesson driving plans.

Think through whether you will offer pickup/dropoff services for your behind-the-wheel driving students, as well as permitting students to use your vehicles for their road test.

All these choices affect your driving school instructional burden–if you pickup/dropoff, you can’t provide instruction while you are going to your student’s home.

6. Create Your Business Plan and Budget

Once you’ve assembled all this information, you can create a business plan. A business plan is your blueprint or framework for your operations, and everything you do should link back to the plan in some way.

The business plan serves two purposes. First, it guides your actions. Second, it allows you to seek investment or financing if that’s the route you have chosen to take.

If the plan is for your own use, it may not to be fully formalized. You should still find a solid template for one, however, and make sure you have the information needed in each section. You will then be ready to get your business going.

If you are seeking loan or investment, a full, formal plan will probably be needed. Be guided by your advisory team, including your attorney and accountant, as you develop your formal business plan.

6. Develop Your Driving School Curriculum and Lesson Plans

At some point during your planning process, you will need to create a curriculum and lesson plans. These are necessary even if you are only offering behind-the-wheel driving instruction.

Many states have mandatory curriculums for classroom driver education, although instructors may approach topics in their own way. Part of your research will let you know what you are required to offer.

You may also be able to use professionally prepared courses. The AAA, for example, may offer courses you can use. Look around for resources which will help you get the job done.

Even if you’re offering behind-the-wheel training only, you should organize your lessons. States may indicate certain skills need to be worked on during driver training, but even when a state doesn’t require those skill, be guided by their road test. You want your students to pass, and being aware of what the state will ask the students to do is a good way to organize your lesson sequence.

Be aware that some states forbid providing lessons on the road test routes they use in your community. Find out what those routes are so you don’t get in trouble.

7. Get the Word Out!

Advertise your driving school. Follow through on your marketing plan. The greatest driving instructor will not get business if people don’t know you’re around, and it’s on you to let people know you are ready for them.

As we noted in the Marketing Plan section, you may not be able to advertise until you have your license. That’s fine–you’ll have everything ready to go. The website can go live on the day you get the license, and any other marketing plans should kick in on that day.

Visit people–gas stations, car dealers, schools (if allowed). You might want to give presentations to church youth groups as well as parents’ groups. Find ways to showcase your expertise.

Remember that you will not have many repeat customers–except for large families. Your best friend is good word-of-mouth buzz about your driving school as people tell their friends about the quality of your service.

Keep in touch with former clients, even if it’s just an annual email wishing them well (a Happy Birthday greeting, for example). Follow up to keep track of your students’ pass rates–if it’s great, brag about it. While you shouldn’t suggest that you guarantee passage, most states will let you mention the pass rate.

You will eventually find that people are reviewing your school on Facebook and Google. Great! Thank people for the good to great reviews, and make it sound personal. When you get negative reviews, respond also–but don’t argue. Ask them to call you to find out why they’re not happy–it may be a misunderstanding! If it’s not a misunderstanding, however, use that feedback to improve your school and driving instruction.

8. Driving School SEO is Your Friend

SEO–Search Engine Optimization–is your best way to make sure people are aware of you. SEO is simply the practice of including key words and phrases in your internet content, allowing Google to find your site and rank it highly.

We won’t give you an overwhelming course in SEO here–books have been written about it. But good, effective SEO will make sure that your website is found by people looking for driving schools in your area–and that your site will be at the top of the list.

One way to build your rankings is to keep a blog or resources page on your website. Update it monthly or so, and provide tips to new drivers, guides to what they can expect during their driving instruction, guides to parents while their teen is learning to drive, and so forth.

Submit new content to Google so it’s indexed–you’re telling Google the content is there. Google can’t rank you unless they know you exist.

SEO keywords are phrases–especially phrases your customers will use when they’re looking for driving instruction. Some driving school SEO keywords for your school (insert your town name for [town]:

Driving school [town]
Driver’s education in [town]
Driving school near [town]
Driving draining in [town]
Teen driving instruction in [town]

You get the picture. Your school’s name can be a keyword in and of itself, but you’ll want more than just that for people to find you.

9. Promote Yourself

Don’t be afraid to ask your students for testimonials and reviews. When you know you’ve given successful instruction, asking your students for them will help bring you business.

Students can review you on Google and on Facebook–ask for both. Parents of teen students should also provide reviews, because if you’re done your job well in teaching teenagers to drive, the parents’ lives will be much easier–and everyone will be happy.

Respond to reviews, also. Responding shows you are paying attention. Remember that some people will never give a five-star rating, no matter what you do. Thank people for strong, positive reviews.

And, as noted previously, explore negative online reviews. Ask that they call you to find out what you could have done better. Be polite of course–saying something along the lines of “We’re so sorry about your experience with us. Please call us at ____ to help us become better” will do wonders. Sometimes, you’ll even find the bad rating was a mistake. In any case, take all the feedback you can get.

10. Set Up Your System for Success

You will need to organize your business for success. The time it takes will be on top of the time you spend providing instruction. Be aware that as the business owner, you don’t stop at 40 hours per week.

One advantage you have is the availability of many mornings–during the school year. You probably won’t be providing driving instruction for teens many mornings from August through mid/late Spring, and you can use that time to ensure that your business is running smoothly.

Make sure your records are always ready for state inspection, as most states reserve the right to inspect driving schools during normal business hours. Many states seem to think that your records should still be kept on paper, although you will find it easier to keep on computer. Doing both is of course the best solution, but you will need to print up fresh records daily in those states. Keep on top of it!

Your Successful Driving School

Successful driving schools–whether one-person operations or multi-million dollar schools with multiple branches–all become successful because their instructors provide excellent driver education and driving training and their owners were effective entrepreneurs. They make sure that their businesses were well-run and effectively marketed.

The joy of this business is that you know you make a difference. With highway accidents being a leading cause of death, especially among young people, your services can make the highways safer for everyone. It’s great to be able to make both a difference and a living–that’s what driving schools can do.

How to Start a Driving School in Florida: A Step-by-Step Guide

Here you’ll learn everything you need to start your Driving School in Florida

Compared to many states, Florida makes it relatively easy to establish a driving school. You still need to complete forms, and meet requirements, but the state seems to be driving-school friendly.

Florida driving schools may offer classroom instruction, behind-the-wheel training, or both. Some driving schools may also be able to administer testing for prospective drivers.

How to open your driving school in Florida

Florida makes it easy to start a driving school.
Driving schools need to be licensed, as well as their instructors. The owner does not need to be an instructor.
Your driving school location generally is up to you.
You must use written contracts with your students, but you do not have to keep student records—although you should, out of prudence.
You can offer additional driving training courses which have to be approved by the state.