Harris County · TDLR CP018
Defensive driving for a Houston ticket. Six hours, online, TDLR-approved.
Cited in Houston? Our course is approved by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation for use anywhere in Texas. What changes from city to city is the court, so this page is about Herbert W. Gee Municipal Courthouse and what it asks for.
What Herbert W. Gee Municipal Courthouse asks for
Verified against the court's own page on . Courts change their procedures, so confirm anything below with the clerk before you rely on it.
| Deadline to ask | On or before your arraignment court date. The court warns that missing it risks a Failure to Appear warrant. |
|---|---|
| Time to complete | 90 days to complete the course. |
| Court costs | $144 for a moving violation or $169 in a school zone where the court must grant the course; $184 and $209 respectively where it is discretionary. |
| Where | 1400 Lubbock Street, Houston, TX 77002 |
| Phone | 713-247-5479 |
What to submit
- A completed, signed DSC/MOTC application
- A copy of the front of your valid Texas driver license
- Current auto insurance showing you as insured
- Payment by check, money order or credit card
Does Houston want your driving record?
Plan on yes. Tex. Code Crim. Proc. art. 45A.356(a) has you present both (a)(1) your certificate of completion and (a)(2) your Department of Public Safety driving record. Herbert W. Gee Municipal Courthouse does not spell the record out in the requirements we could verify from its own page, but the statute is not specific to a city. The statute qualifies the record with "if any", and a judge may instead proceed under art. 45A.359, in which case the court will not ask you for one. Your court clerk is the authority on your own case.
What this court will not allow
- Holding a commercial driver license when the citation was issued
- Speeding 95 mph or more, or 25 mph or more over the limit
- Passing a school bus, hit and run, or a construction-zone offense
- A court-ordered driving safety course completed within the previous year
Worth knowing about Houston specifically
Houston separates mandatory from discretionary requests and charges $40 more for the discretionary ones, which is worth knowing before you assume a figure.
Juveniles must appear with a parent or guardian.
Source: Herbert W. Gee Municipal Courthouse.
If your citation was written outside the Houston city limits, it will be heard by a Harris County justice of the peace rather than the municipal court. See Harris County's justice courts. The procedure is the same statute either way.
You need two documents, not one
The court asks for your certificate of completion and a certified Type 3A driving record. We can send you both, in one order.
Tex. Code Crim. Proc. art. 45A.356(a) names them together: (a)(1) your uniform certificate of completion, and (a)(2) a copy of your driving record showing you have not completed a driving safety course for dismissal in the previous 12 months. They are consecutive items in the same subsection.
- Document 1 Certificate of completion Issued the moment you finish the six-hour course, with nothing extra to pay for it. Comes with the course
- Document 2 Certified Type 3A driving record We place the order with DPS for you after checkout, and Type 3A is the only record type DPS allows for a driving safety course. Added to your order
Buy the course on its own and the clerk can still send you back for the record. Ordering both now means there is no second order to place later.
The statute qualifies the record with "if any", and a judge may instead proceed under art. 45A.359, in which case the court will not ask you for one. Your court clerk is the authority on your own case.
Course + Type 3A driving record
Both documents in one order for your Houston citation: the six-hour approved course and the certified DPS record you have to file with it.
Course only
The approved six-hour course on its own, only if you already hold your Type 3A record.
Driving record only
The certified Type 3A record, ordered from DPS on your behalf.
How it works, wherever you were cited
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Ask the court first
Enter a plea of no contest or guilty by the date on your citation and request a driving safety course. Taking the course before the court grants it does not qualify you.
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Complete the six hours
Online, at your own pace, on any device. Six hours is the TDLR minimum, so no approved provider can offer shorter.
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Order your Type 3A record
The certified DPS record is the second document the court needs. It is the only record type DPS permits for a driving safety course.
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File both with the court in time
For Houston: 90 days to complete the course.
Dismissal is the court's decision, not ours. We are accountable for a TDLR-approved course and a valid certificate on time. Source: Tex. Code Crim. Proc. art. 45A.352.