DWI Education

What is the 12-hour DWI Education class?

Twelve hours of alcohol and drug education, regulated by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation and taught to one state-approved curriculum. Court orders call it DWI Education. Probation officers shorten it to DWI-E, and people looking for it online often type DUI class or DWI safety education class. All three names mean this program.

TDLR describes it as educating DWI offenders about alcohol and drugs and how they relate to driving skills, helping them identify their own drinking and driving patterns, and helping them plan to reduce the chance of a future DWI. The topics are set by the state: Texas DWI law, the effects of alcohol and other drugs on the body and on the driving task, chemical dependency and its symptoms, the costs of a DWI, where to find help, and decision-making.

Because the curriculum is standardized, the twelve hours cover the same ground wherever you take them. What changes between licensed providers is the schedule, the price, and whether the class is taught in a room or over live video.

Who is required to take DWI Education in Texas?

Anyone placed on community supervision for an intoxication offense under Penal Code sections 49.04 through 49.08. The judge is required to make it a condition of supervision, so it appears in writing in your order. If your paperwork names DWI Education, DWI-E, or an educational program for people who have driven while intoxicated, this is the class it means.

A case punished as a repeat offense under Penal Code section 49.09 goes somewhere else. Article 42A.404 orders those defendants into the 32-hour program for repeat offenders, which TDLR calls DWI Intervention and describes as designed for offenders with multiple DWIs whose first-offender program did not address the problem. If your order says 32 hours, you need DWI Intervention rather than this class.

Under 18 is a different program again. A minor charged with MIP, MIC, PI or DUI is ordered into the six-hour Alcohol Education Program for Minors, which a parent or legal guardian enrolls them in.

Your order decides this, not your reading of the charge. There is one statutory exception and it is narrow: article 42A.403 does not apply where a jury recommended community supervision and also recommended that your license not be suspended. Send us a photo of your order, or have it in front of you when you call, and we will tell you which class it names before you pay for anything.

How much does the DWI class cost?

$75 at TruLynk, and that is the whole price of the twelve hours. No separate registration fee, and no charge for the certificate. Prices differ by provider: published prices for the same 12-hour class ran from $55 to $125 in August 2026.

Those figures are the published prices of three other Texas providers of the same 12-hour program, and prices change, so treat the range as a guide rather than a quote. Compare on the total rather than the headline, and ask what is not included before you pay anyone.

What the $75 buys is the twelve hours themselves, taught live by an instructor, and the Certificate of Completion at the end. You pay as you book a dated seat, so the money and the schedule are settled in one step instead of leaving you to chase dates afterwards.

The costly mistake in this process is not overpaying by $40. It is paying for a class your order does not name, which means paying again for the right one.

What happens if you don't finish within 180 days?

Your driver's license is revoked. Article 42A.403 requires the class to be finished before the 181st day after community supervision is granted, and once that date passes with no completion in the Department of Public Safety's records, Transportation Code section 521.344(e) directs the department to revoke the license, or to bar a resident who has no license from getting one.

The deadline can move, but only a judge can move it. On a written motion showing good cause, the judge may waive the class outright or grant an extension, and an extension can run no later than the first anniversary of the date your supervision started. Article 42A.403 lists what a judge may weigh as good cause, including your work and school schedule, your health, how far you would travel to an in-person class, and whether your internet service is good enough to complete an online one.

Count from the day supervision was granted, not from the arrest and not from today. Twelve hours is not one sitting. If yours is already tight, say so when you call and we will find you the earliest dates we have.

How do online DWI classes work in Texas?

They are live classes with an instructor on video, not self-paced modules. The state rule for online court-ordered classes, 16 TAC §90.48, requires a provider to give instructors equipment for virtual, real-time, interactive presentation of course materials, to keep the classroom camera focused on the instructor throughout, and to keep every participant on camera for the whole class.

Breaks are the exception; the rest of the session you are on screen. The same rule sets the attendance mechanics. Your instructor takes the roster, confirms your audio and video are working before the class starts, and may not admit you without both. A provider may not enroll you at all if your equipment cannot run the class. So the practical list is short: a device with a working camera and microphone, a connection that holds for the full session, and a quiet place where you can stay on screen.

Because the class runs over Zoom, where you live in Texas does not limit which class you can take, and we serve all 254 counties. What we cannot do is decide for your court. Only your court or supervising officer can say whether a given program satisfies your order, so confirm the program name with them before you enroll.

How does the certificate reach the court?

We report it, and only once the class is genuinely finished. 16 TAC §90.48 says an instructor or provider must not present a certificate to a participant who fails to complete a court-ordered program, so time away from the screen is not a paperwork problem you can settle at the end.

The license side runs on records rather than on the document you hold. Transportation Code section 521.344(e) turns on whether the Department of Public Safety shows a completion by the deadline, which is why finishing inside the window matters more than having the certificate in hand.

How the class runs

Sessions are instructor-led over Zoom, not self-paced video, and they run for the full scheduled time. You need a device with a camera and a quiet place to sit where you can be seen and heard. Arriving late, leaving early, or being away from the screen can mean a session does not count toward your hours.

What you get at the end

A state-issued Certificate of Completion once you finish the 12 hours and your balance is paid in full. We report your enrollment, attendance, and completion to the court or supervising authority named in your order, and to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation as required. Our privacy policy covers exactly what that reporting involves.

Before you enroll

Confirm with your court or probation officer that DWI Education (DWI-E / DUI) is the program your order requires. Only they can decide whether a certificate satisfies it, and taking the wrong class is the most expensive mistake in this process. Have your order, cause or case number, and county to hand when you register.