Question: How can I find out when the last time I took a defensive driving course?
Answer: If you cannot remember how long it has been since you took a defensive driving class, you may try contacting your state’s Department of Motor Vehicles to see if they have it listed as part of your driving record.
- Whether you are unsure of how long it has been since you last took a defensive driving course, you can check with the Department of Motor Vehicles in your state to see if they have a record of it on file.
- Whether you are unsure of how long it has been since you last took a defensive driving course, you can check with the Department of Motor Vehicles in your state to see if they have a record of it on file.
- To see when it says you completed a defensive driving course, you may need to pay a small fee to get a copy of your driving record from your local DMV.
If you took traffic school, driver improvement class or a defensive driving course to get a traffic ticket reduced or dismissed (adjudication withheld) or points taken off of your record, then this may be part of your driving record since the certificate of completion has typically to be sent into the traffic court or the DMV for the ticket or points to be taken off.
If you want to do what you can to keep your insurance rates low, read our guide to the cheapest car insurance.
You may need to pay a small fee to obtain a copy of your driving record from your local DMV and check to see when it states you took a defensive driving course. Suppose it is not listed on your motor vehicle record (MVR). In that case, if you sent in the completion certificate to a court, you may try contacting that court to see if there is a way for them to look up your case file or give you information on where to find it.
If neither of these options pans out, you can try contacting the school you took the class through to see if they have any records on when you last attended or paid for a driver improvement course.
As you are likely aware, some states do not allow traffic school for point reduction or to get rid of a ticket. However, other states allow this only in a specific period.
For example, in Florida, you can elect to attend traffic school only once within 12 months and only five times in total within your lifetime of having a Florida driver’s license. In Florida, the months are floating, meaning that if you received your citation in July, you could not take another traffic school class until after that period the following year.
In California, you are allowed to attend traffic school once every 18 months. If your offense is eligible for driving classes, it usually will be stated on your citation or court papers.
Besides schools specific to taking keeping off a violation and/or points you were recently cited for, as mentioned above, some states allow you to take classes to remove demerit points previously put onto your record.
Wisconsin allows a Traffic Safety School (TSS) to be taken once every five years to have a driver’s demerit point total reduced by three upon completion.
New York allows licensed drivers to reduce their violation points by up to four points and save 10% on auto liability insurance by taking a DMV-approved accident prevention course. New York points may be reduced only once in any 18 months.
Your state’s DMV should be able to give you information on any traffic school listed on your driving record and also on how often your state allows one to take a traffic course to keep a violation and points off the driving record to remove previous points.
As you know, having a clean driving record has many advantages, from being employed with a company that requires a clean driving record to operate a company vehicle to having better rates with your car insurance company.
Ask the Insurance Expert
Laura Longero
Executive Editor
Laura is an award-winning editor with experience in content and communications covering auto insurance and personal finance. She has written for several media outlets, including the USA Today Network. She most recently worked in the public sector for the Nevada Department of Transportation.
Ask the Insurance Expert
John McCormick
Editorial Director
John is the editorial director for CarInsurance.com, Insurance.com and Insure.com. Before joining QuinStreet, John was a deputy editor at The Wall Street Journal and had been an editor and reporter at a number of other media outlets where he covered insurance, personal finance, and technology.
Ask the Insurance Expert
Leslie Kasperowicz
Managing Editor
Leslie Kasperowicz is an insurance educator and content creation professional with nearly two decades of experience first directly in the insurance industry at Farmers Insurance and then as a writer, researcher, and educator for insurance shoppers writing for sites like ExpertInsuranceReviews.com and InsuranceHotline.com and managing content, now at CarInsurance.com.
Ask the Insurance Expert
Nupur Gambhir
Managing Editor
Nupur Gambhir is a content editor and licensed life, health, and disability insurance expert. She has extensive experience bringing brands to life and has built award-nominated campaigns for travel and tech. Her insurance expertise has been featured in Bloomberg News, Forbes Advisor, CNET, Fortune, Slate, Real Simple, Lifehacker, The Financial Gym, and the end-of-life planning service.
