How to Open a Driving School

• Opening a driving school is a multi-phase process. Click here for a checklist.
  
  • Phase 1 - School application with fees, background check, and disclosure.
  • Phase 2 - You will need to create a lesson plan based on the current standardized Driver’s Education curriculum and submit it for review.
  • Phase 3 - Secure location, vehicle(s), insurance requirements, surety bond, occupational license (if required), and any other business-related items.
  • Phase 4 - Third Party Road Skills test route, required training, and additional instructors/examiners applications.

Currently, all applications must be mailed to:

Office of Motor Vehicles
Attn:  Training & Certification Unit
P.O. Box 64886
Baton Rouge, LA  70896-4886

Please click here to view the cost breakdown associated with opening a driving school.

A lesson plan is a detailed description of the course of instruction for a lesson. They are based on the subject matter, teaching preference, and the needs of the students. For driver’s education purposes, the lesson plan should be geared towards teaching the students the knowledge needed to be a safe and courteous driver in both the classroom setting and the behind-the-wheel. Your lesson plan should tell how you will teach the material, not that you have the information to teach. 

A lesson plan has many different looks. Some are strictly through lectures, which are narratives. Some are more visual, such as PowerPoint presentations. Today’s youth tend to be more visual learners, so a PowerPoint presentation with links to videos and other visual elements may be more appropriate. This is not to say you cannot have lectures, but the average student in this day and age tends to respond better to visual stimuli than just verbal ones. With that being said, a PowerPoint lesson plan is preferred and it should be sent via email or on a thumb drive. The average lesson plan is between 250 and 400 slides long.

This is part of Phase 3. This is done once you have completed all Phase 1 and 2 items and have received instructions to begin Phase 3. Click here to view the checklist.

You may begin driving students after you have been fully licensed by the Training and Certification Unit.

To become a driving school owner, the applicant must:

• • be a citizen of the United States or be lawfully present in the United States, and be a resident of the state of Louisiana;
  • be at least 21 years of age and have at least 5 years of unrestricted driving experience;
  • hold at least a valid class “E” Louisiana driver’s license;
  • have earned at least a high school diploma or GED;
  • not have had driving privileges suspended/disqualified for a DUI/DWI within the last 10 years;
  • possess any required occupational license and business license;

within the last three years, not have any of the convictions listed below:

• three or more moving violations on the driving record;
• driving under suspension;
• two or more citations for seatbelt violations;
• two or more citations for following too closely;
• one or more citations for child restraint violations;
• three or more exceeding the posted speed limit;
• one or more citations for texting while driving;
• two or more citations for driving without insurance or security within three years; or,
• two or more citations for reckless or careless operation or careless driving;

• not have three or more insurance cancellations within the last 12 months on his driving record;
• not have been convicted of any offenses related to the operation of a driving school or other business regulated by DPS;
• not a current or previous owner of a driving school or any other business regulated by DPS whose license or contract has been revoked;
• not have been convicted of a crime involving violence, dishonesty, deceit, indecency or an offense involving moral turpitude, and have not been convicted of any misdemeanor or felony offenses involving controlled dangerous substance(s) or driving while intoxicated within the last 10 years;
• not be convicted of any crime enumerated in R.S. 15:587.1(C) (the Child Protection Act), R.S. 15:587.1 et seq.
• has not provided false information with the application or falsified or withheld documents or information from representatives of DPS

If at any time during the process of opening a driving school, you decide it is not for you, please email ladrivingschools@dps.la.gov to inform the Training and Certification Unit of this decision. 

All fees submitted to the state are non-refundable.