If you’re trying to figure out how to sign up for traffic school, that can only mean one of a few things. Either you got a traffic ticket and need to get it removed from your record, you need to lower your auto insurance rates, or you have absolutely no life and review online traffic schools like I do.
As a certified driving instructor, even I know that taking traffic school blows. Who wants to spend a Saturday sitting in a classroom with a bunch of people who don’t want to be there while you get lectured at about safe driving habits? Pretty much nobody, except maybe the instructor who is getting paid to be there.
So, here’s the deal… I know you don’t want to take traffic school, but you are dong it because the benefits outweigh the temporary boredom you’ll have to go through. Basically, you just want to get it done as quickly and as easily (and as cheaply) as possible.
Well you’re in luck. Here is how to sign up for traffic school the EASY way.
What are the Requirements to Attend Traffic School?
To attend a traffic school, you’ll need to have a valid Driver’s License (should not be a Commercial Driver’s License). At the same time, the traffic ticket you received should only be for minor moving violations such as speeding, failure to stop, beating the red light, etc.
Another condition that you need to meet is that you should NOT have attended any traffic school program within the last 18 months.
Traffic school is not an option for you if you were cited for an equipment offense, if it is for a parking ticket, if you were cited for a misdemeanor, or more serious offenses like driving under the influence, reckless driving, or violations resulting in deaths or physical injury.
Note that if you are under 18 years old, you may be required to appear in front of the judge to request traffic school.
If you are qualified to attend a traffic school program, you can take it in-person or online – this depends whether your state allows online courses or not, or if you were able to acquire special permission from your court handler to attend one.
You should notify the court that you will be completing traffic school to be sure, but you might need to pay your ticket and the administrative fees to the court before you complete the course.
Make sure to complete the course on or before your court due date. Once done, ensure that your traffic school will submit your completion to your court handler so that they can forward it to the DMV who will process your ticket dismissal.
Rule #1 – Sign Up For Traffic School Online
Remember that whole thing about sitting in a classroom on a perfectly good Saturday? There’s a way around that. These days, you can take your traffic school online. There are many, many, many benefits to signing up for an online traffic school vs. a classroom based course.
For starters, many states don’t actually time the course. Instead of spending 6 hours or more in a classroom, you can just take it online and blow through it in an hour if you want to. All you have to do is pass the super easy quizzes at the end of each chapter, then pass an equally easy final exam, and you’re done.
Some states, on the other hand, do time the course. There are timers on each page (or in each section) and you can’t progress any further until the timer reaches zero. If the course is supposed to take 6 hours, it will take 6 hours.
Even in this worse case scenario, you can still log into and out of the course whenever you want. If you want to finish the course in one day, great! If you want to split it up over 6 days or even 30 days? That’s fine too. Taking an online traffic school is usually about the same price as a classroom if not cheaper.
Here are the top 4 online traffic schools I recommend:
There are a lot of really low quality online traffic schools out there, so I very highly recommend you stick with one of the above traffic schools. Some of the links above also contain coupon codes and automatic discounts will be applied. If you want to know how to sign up for traffic school online in your state, just pick your state on any of the above sites and you’ll be given full instructions on how to get signed up.
What To Look For Before Signing Up For Traffic School
If you stick with one of the online traffic schools I recommended above, you’ll be good to go. It doesn’t matter which one you go with, they are all fine. So check each of them out and just pick the one you think looks best.
With that said, maybe you don’t like any of the options I provided and want to do your own research. For starters, don’t assume that any “state certified online traffic school” will suffice. Some online traffic schools really suck. How do they suck? Well, many of them are owned by single individuals, no real companies. That means, if you need to contact customer service for any reason or request a refund, goooooood luck with that.
You should also look for an online traffic school that offers their course through many different device options. If you want to take traffic school from your iPhone, you should be allowed to do that. There’s nothing like sitting in front of the TV in your PJ’s watching your favorite movie while you finish up your traffic school on your phone.
Make sure whoever you go with has a good online reputation as well. You don’t need to know ever detail about them, but if there are no online reviews for a traffic school you’re thinking about signing up for, you will want to pass. All of the online traffic schools I listed above have existed for 15+ years and have had MILLIONS of people go through their courses. Online reviews are abundant and they have A+ ratings with the Better Business Bureau. If you have any problems, just go to the BBB. That’ll get their attention!
Check For Insurance Discounts When You’re Done
In some states, such as the state of New York, your auto insurance provider is actually required by law to give you a 15% discount on your auto insurance if you’ve successfully completed a traffic school program.
You can take the traffic school every 2 years and keep that discount going forever. So even if you’re taking the course to lower point on your driving record or get a ticket dismissed, you might even be able to get an insurance discount on top of that. Pretty cool, right?
Hopefully this helped you learn how to sign up for traffic school and get it done the quickest and easiest way possible. In short, do it online!