Fun fact, did you know that there are more than 1,000 traffic schools that are licensed by the California DMV, and each is monitored by the California Traffic Safety Institute (CTSI)? So, it isn’t like you’re short on options, with so many of these traffic schools throughout The Golden State. And, there’s even a complete list of traffic school locations that have been approved by the California DMV! (More on that in a bit)
Moreover, each of these traffic schools offers a variety of options for how you can take all your lessons, authorized to handle in-person or online courses, respectively, which should meet the state’s requirements and any other court requirements you might have. The latter encompass issues like traffic citation dismissals or point reductions on your driving record.
How To Find The California DMV Approved Traffic School List
Now, the easiest way to view the complete list of traffic school locations that are approved by the California DMV is to use their online lookup tool, which you can access here.
Once you’re there, all you need to do now is to input your:
- Type Of Instruction (where you can choose between ‘Classroom’, ‘Home Study’, and ‘Internet’ options for how you can take your lessons; i.e. classroom-based courses or online courses)
This is honestly the only option you need to actually pick from for this lookup tool to show a complete list of all the traffic school locations that were approved by the California DMV. You could then preview the entire list from here, but if you’re seeking a specific traffic school from this list, or if you want to narrow down your search, you could use these additional (optional) filters below:
- License Number (this is where you can input the license number for a specific traffic school if you have one in mind)
- Business Name (this is where you can input the name of a specific traffic school if you prefer choosing this one)
- Language (this is only applicable if you need to take your courses in languages other than the standard English)
- Address, City, Zip Code, or County (of course, this should help you narrow down this list to the traffic schools that are located near you, or any other specific areas)
Some Additional Tips For Picking The Right Traffic School
Now, once you’ve filtered that list of traffic school locations that have been approved by the California DMV, hit the ‘Search’ button to generate the list of traffic schools that match your criteria. The results will now show you important info about each traffic school, including its license status, full address, phone number (this is especially important), and so on.
You can then review this list to see which traffic school best suits you, and here are some tips for what you should be looking for:
- Make sure the traffic school in question is still licensed, and that their license hasn’t expired.
- Decide on whether you’d prefer an in-person class, or if you instead prefer taking your course online.
- Check online reviews of that specific traffic school to get a more informed perspective on it, such as whether other students have had bad experiences in the past, or what issues you’d ideally want to be on the lookout for in each school.
- Contact the traffic school to ask them about the enrolment process, how much their fees are (including any hidden or extra fees), what their scheduling looks like, when is the intake period, and so on.
- Check to see if the traffic school in question offers a money-back guarantee, which applies if you’re not satisfied with the course prior to completing it.
- Be sure to remember the court-assigned deadline, at which time you’ll have to complete the traffic school course, and missing it could result in additional penalties being handed down.
- Confirm with the court or DMV (ideally, prior to enrolment) that the traffic school is accepted for handling your ticket, citations, or point reductions on your driving record.
- Also, confirm whether or not the traffic school submits your completion certificate directly to the DMV or court.