Frequently Asked Questions

In Minnesota, there are two main phases for a person under 18 years of age who wants to become a licensed driver. The first phase involves enrolling and completing 30 hours of classroom instruction, which can be done online, through distance learning, or in-person. If done in person, each day is three hours, and if done online, the maximum amount to be completed in a 24-hour period is three hours.

Once the classroom instruction is completed, the student can take their Knowledge/permit test if they are at least 15 years old and have the "Blue Slip" Certificate of Course Completion. This certificate confirms that the student has completed their 30 classroom hours and is enrolled in a behind-the-wheel program with an approved driving school. If a student completes their classroom training before their 15th birthday, their Blue Slip will be post-dated for their 15th birthday.

The Knowledge test is a written test offered on a computer, and an appointment must be made to take it. Once the test is passed, the student will receive their Class "D" Instruction Permit. If the student is 18 years of age or younger, they must hold their Instruction permit for at least six months before they are eligible to take their Road Test to obtain a Class D Provisional driver's License. If a student has just turned 15 when they receive their Instruction permit, they must hold it until they are 16 years of age.

The second phase of driver's education is the Behind the Wheel (BTW) Lessons. During the time students hold their permit until they are eligible to be licensed, they need to complete three, two-hour BTW lessons with an approved driving school and log 50 hours of supervised driving, 15 of which need to take place at night. Once enrolled with a driving school, students will receive links to a paper log or the Road Ready app to keep track of their hours.

It is important to schedule one lesson at a time, as students must be assessed for safety, and driving lessons should be scheduled at least four weeks prior to the road/license test. Lesson 1 requires a minimum of 5-10 hours of driving, lesson 2 requires 25-35 hours, and lesson 3 requires 35-50 hours. After the third BTW lesson, the student's instructor will give them their "White Card" Certificate of Course Completion, which they will take to their road test to confirm they have completed their six hours of behind-the-wheel practical application of driver's training.

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• Must be 15 years of age or older

• Original Birth Certificate/ or unexpired Passport = 1 primary document

• Social Security Card=secondary document

• Blue Slip = Certificate of Enrollment

• Under 18 a parent must sign, and your Vision test must be passed

The State requires 50 logged driving hours, 15 of those 50 need to take place at night. Your log will need to be turned into the DMV on the day you take your road test.

Download your road ready App for logging your hours. 50 total, 15 nighttime hours. Your parents will need to sign off on this log and you will need to turn this into the examiner to take your road/License test. https://www.roadreadyapp.com/

Download a paper copy of the supervised driving log below.

Supervised Driving Log

What you need for your Road/license Test

Appointments: https://onlineservices.dps.mn.gov/eservices/MN Driver Services

Once on the DMV website: You'll see driver's services on the left, underneath this you'll see appointments. 1. Click on schedule an appointment, 2. Click Driver's Services 3. Click Class D Skills Exam First Time. (this is the road test to get licensed)

•     Permit

•    Certificate of course completion, white card. You'll get this from your BTW     instructor after your 3rd lesson.

•   Proof of insurance on the vehicle

• Your own vehicle that meets safety requirements

Our classes are structured Days 1-10. Monday-Friday, Monday-Friday. You have two options for making up a missed class.

When a class has more than two time periods offered during a particular session,  you can take that days curriculum at either time. Example, I'm currently enrolled in 9-12:00pm classes, I cannot make the 9-12:00 time, I can go that same day from 6-9.

If I cannot make it at all on one particular day, there is a classroom calendar that shows all future dates and the class that will be held on that date. Checking the calendar, I look to see when that class is next available. I can then walk-in to make up my missed class. Please let the instructor know when you began your classes so attendance and credit are given. 

For the first Monday and time that students are registered, they will log into a zoom teleconference and the instructor will lead the students through the Teach Safe Site. 

This meeting is One Time Only and is about 30 minutes. Again, our start/zoom meetings are always on Monday's for the date and time they are registered for. They can flex their time for that first day. If they sign up for 3:00, or 7:00 and cannot make it,  they can switch times; the zoom link is the same, however they need to be at one of those times that first Monday. *Summer start times are different, please see our website. :)  *Please note:  There are no other zoom meetings other than the Monday they are registered for, for that session.  The reason is to follow: 

After the zoom meeting, students will complete their 30 modules at their own pace.  Students can complete up to 3 lessons per day maximum. Allowing them to complete their course in 10 days. Or students may take 2 lessons per day, 1 lesson per day, or miss a day. Please note- your online class does not start until you log into Teach Safe and Begin the first class; at which time you will have up to 90 days to complete your 30 hours of classroom online instruction.  This is a cohesive program and students cannot move on to the next module until they pass the quiz for the previous module. Once students have completed their 30 hours of instruction, we will be notified and will either mail the students "Blue Card" to them, or it can be picked up in person. That allows them to take their Knowledge/permit test at the DMV. All the links for scheduling this, and how to schedule their Behind-the-Wheel lessons will follow upon the completion of their 30 hours of instruction. The cost of the online training is $420.00. You may pay $270 now, and then once you've gotten your permit and are ready to begin your BTW lessons, the balance of $150 for all 3 lessons is due.

You will recieve your "White Card" certificate of Course Completion from your instructor after your 3rd BTW lesson. 

Please schedule this 3rd BTW lesson at least 4 weeks prior to the road/license test.

Scheduling your BTW lessons When, How, and Why we schedule the way we do. 

After you have received your permit, we encourage you to practice on all types of roadways, in all weather conditions while you have your parent(s) with you. Statistically, students that have their parents in the car while driving have less than a 1% chance of being involved in an accident. When you're learning to drive, just like when learning to ride a bicycle, your parents were your co-pilots. You need them! It's putting time into your practice that ensures you have the experience to call upon when you're on your own, behind the wheel. The law requires if you are under 18 years of age you must hold your permit for six months.

Six months or a year from now seems like a long time, we get it. It's not! Not when scheduling three behind the wheel lessons, needing to drive in between each lesson while trying to fit in, school, sports, band, work, travel, it will come faster than you know.  Please, plan. 😊 

Please Read the Following CAREFULLY.

You must spread your 3 lessons out over the next year, or six months depending on when you received your permit, which is based on your age. Students whose ages are 15 ½ and older must spread their 3, BTW lessons out over the 6-month minimum that they hold their permit; longer to hold their permit is better. Students that are younger than 15 ½ that just received their permits have up to a year to complete their 3 BTW lessons. Waiting until the last minute is not advised.  3 months is NOT enough time to complete their 3 BTW lessons.

We live in a seasonal climate, with all sorts of weather conditions. Consider that you, your child will be driving in these conditions. Taking a behind the wheel lesson when there is snow on the ground is just as important as when there isn't.

(Students must be assessed for safety) We typically schedule 3 to 4 weeks out per lesson. If this format is not followed, DS driving school cannot guarantee that we will be able to get your 3 lessons in before your driving test so please follow the below schedule.

1. Must have driven a minimum of 15 hours (Lesson 1)

2. Must have driven 25- 35 hours (Lesson 2) Students are driving to downtown Minneapolis, Freeway/Highway driving. This cannot take place if students do not have a minimum of 25 hours of driving time.

3. Must have driven 35- 50 hours (Lesson 3) Please schedule this 3rd BTW lesson at least 4 weeks prior to the road/license test.

How to schedule your BTW lessons Online:

To schedule your first btw session, log into your account. Click on the left-hand side, schedule behind the wheel. If you have a balance for your BTW lessons, you will need to pay the balance prior to scheduling the first lesson. 

The BTW calendar opens on the 1st of each month for the next month's openings. It is the responsibility of the student and parent to schedule lessons during this time. Only one lesson can be scheduled every 28 days. 

Drop off and pick locations are below. This location is determined when you schedule the lesson. 

Drop off and pick up locations are below:

Chaska - Crown of Glory Church (1141 Cardinal St, Chaska, MN 55318)

Eden Prairie - Prairie Village Mall (16526 W 78th St, Eden Prairie, MN 55346

It is illegal to drive without an instruction permit. A student who does not have a permit for any BTW lesson will not receive instruction and will be charged $75. 

· We must receive 24-hour notice in order to cancel any behind the wheel lesson. You can cancel lessons by logging into your account and clicking "Unregister."  Failure to cancel within 24 hours, or to No-Show, will result in a $75 fee added to the student's account. Accounts must be current before other behind the wheel lessons are scheduled. We will help reschedule and prioritize the missed lesson due to illness.

Please visit our website to register your new student at

 http://www.dsdrivingschoolwest.com/

1. Select the Teen Drivers Ed button at the top. On the left, you will see different packages available. You will see a section for "Classroom + Behind The Wheel."

2. Select "Register Now." Complete the registration information on the page. A username will be generated, and you must create a password. Your username and password are needed to log into your student account, pay fees, and schedule the Behind the Wheel lessons.

3. You will then select either our Eden Prairie or Chaska locations. Under "Select a Package," you will then select the appropriate package. Options are online class instruction or In-person classroom instruction. Under the box, you will choose the session date & time that work for your schedule. To complete your registration, click on the orange button. 

4. You may pay $270 now, and once you've gotten your permit and are ready to begin your BTW lessons, the balance of $150 for all three behind-the-wheel classes is due.

We will send a confirmation email on the Sunday before your student's class sessions begin. 

In order to receive a password reset, please verify your email address. Once you verify your email address you will be able to request a new password. 

If you missed your scheduled driving lesson, you will be assessed a no-show fee of $75.00. Once you have paid that fee, you can reschedule your lesson.