If you've started looking into driver's ed in Texas, you've run into the term DE-964. It shows up on the DPS website, on every provider's FAQ page, and on the checklist the clerk goes through at the driver license office. And almost nobody explains it clearly. Here is what it is, when your teen gets it, and the handful of details that trip families up at the counter.
WHAT THE DE-964 ACTUALLY IS
The DE-964 is the Texas Driver Education Certificate. It is the official proof that your teen completed a state-approved driver education course, and it is the document DPS requires before they will issue a learner license or a driver license. It comes from your driver's ed provider, not from DPS and not from TDLR. Every legitimate certificate carries a unique control number that the provider gets from the state, which is how DPS confirms it is real.
Public schools that teach driver's ed issue a slightly different version called the DE-964E. For parent-taught and commercial courses, the form is the DE-964 (you may also see it written DEE-964, which just refers to the electronic version). Same purpose either way.
THERE ARE TWO OF THEM, NOT ONE
This is the part that surprises most parents. In Texas your teen earns two separate certificates over the course of driver's ed:
The first one is for the learner license. It is issued after the first six hours of classroom instruction and passing the knowledge test, and it is marked for the learner license only. This is the certificate you take to DPS when your teen is applying for their learner license (the permit). Some providers, including us, call this one the DE-964E or the learner certificate.
The second one is for the driver license. It is issued after the full classroom course is complete and, for parent-taught students, after the behind-the-wheel training is done. This is the one you take to DPS for the driving test and the provisional license.
Keep both. DPS will ask for the right one at each visit, and you cannot use one in place of the other.
CONCURRENT OR BLOCK: WHAT THOSE WORDS MEAN
Your certificate will say either "concurrent" or "block." This just describes the order your teen did things in.
Concurrent means your teen took the first six hours, got the learner license, and then finished the rest of the classroom hours while also practicing driving. This is what most parent-taught families do, because it gets the teen behind the wheel sooner.
Block means your teen finished all of the classroom hours first, then got the learner license and started driving. Both are allowed. Neither is better in DPS's eyes.
Texas requires 24 hours of classroom instruction in total, and state rules cap classroom time at six hours a day, so the final certificate can never arrive on the same day as the learner certificate. A course that promises to finish everything in a weekend is not following the rules.
WHAT DPS CHECKS WHEN YOU HAND IT OVER
For the learner license (ages 15 to 17), DPS wants the learner certificate, proof your teen is in school (a Verification of Enrollment form signed by the school, or a diploma or GED), and your teen has to pass the vision test and, if it wasn't done in the course, the written knowledge test. A VOE is only good for 30 days (90 days over the summer), so get it close to your appointment.
For the provisional driver license (ages 16 to 17), DPS wants the driver license certificate, a fresh VOE, proof your teen has held the learner license for at least six months, the behind-the-wheel hours completed (7 hours of observation, 7 hours of in-car instruction, and 30 hours of supervised practice with at least 10 at night), an unexpired Impact Texas Teen Drivers certificate, and a passed driving test.
The clerk will compare the name and date of birth on the certificate to your teen's other documents character for character. If your teen goes by a middle name or a nickname, make sure the certificate uses the legal name exactly as it appears on their birth certificate or passport.
DOES THE DE-964 EXPIRE?
The certificate itself does not have an expiration date. What does expire is the paperwork around it. The learner license expires on your teen's 18th birthday. The ITTD certificate expires 90 days after you complete it, which is why we tell families to do ITTD last, right before the driving test. And if your teen passed the written knowledge test as part of the course, that test result is generally treated as good for two years, which only matters if you wait a very long time to go get the permit.
WHAT IF WE LOSE IT?
Contact the provider that issued it. Only the school that taught the course can reissue a certificate, and no other school and not DPS can do it for you. This is worth knowing before you pick a provider. Ask how they deliver certificates and what happens if you need another copy.
HOW IT WORKS AT TEXAN DRIVER
When your teen passes the knowledge test six hours into the course, the learner certificate is generated and emailed to you automatically, usually within a few minutes. There is nothing to request and nothing to wait on. When your teen has finished the online course and you have finished the 44 hours of behind-the-wheel training, you fill out a short parent sign-off form and the driver license certificate is emailed the same way. Every certificate carries a state-issued control number, and we keep a record of each one, so if you ever need a replacement, one email gets it to you.
If you're just starting out, our step-by-step guide for parents walks through the whole process from enrollment to the driving test, and the Texas driving log post explains the 44 hours and gives you a free printable log to track them.
Texan Driver is a TDLR-approved parent-taught driver's ed provider, Provider C3593.