Texas Driving Log: The 44 Hours You Actually Need (Plus a Free Printable Log)

Texas parent-taught driver's ed (PTDE) requires 44 total behind-the-wheel hours after your teen gets their learner license. It splits into two separate categories, tracked on two separate logs:

14 hours of in-car instruction with you (the certified parent instructor): 7 hours of observation, where your teen watches you drive and talks through what you're doing, and 7 hours of actual instruction, where your teen drives with you coaching from the passenger seat.

30 hours of supervised practice: regular driving practice, which can be supervised by any licensed driver who is at least 21 and has held a license for at least a year, not just you. At least 10 of these 30 hours have to happen at night, defined as 30 minutes after sunset to 30 minutes before sunrise.

That's it. 14 plus 30 is 44. No hidden extra hours, no separate freeway or highway requirement layered on top.

You can't cram this into a weekend. Texas caps how much can count per day:

Up to 2 hours per day of in-car instruction with you. Up to 2 hours per day of supervised practice. The whole 44-hour process can't be completed in fewer than 15 calendar days.

Practically, that means even at a steady pace, plan on spreading this out over at least a few weeks. Starting early (Texas allows enrollment in the classroom portion at 14, even though the permit itself isn't available until 15) gives you room to do this without a last-minute scramble.

The 14-hour instruction log (DL-91B) is your record as the parent instructor. It's not something you typically hand over at the DPS, but you should keep it, since it's your proof if TDLR or DPS ever asks.

The 30-hour practice log is the one you'll actually need. Texas requires you to present the completed 30-hour log when your teen applies for their provisional license at DPS.

Both logs ask for the same basic information each session: the date, how long you drove, whether it counted as observation, instruction, or practice, and whether it was day or night. Some parents also jot down what was practiced, like parallel parking or highway merging, which isn't required but makes it easier to see progress.

The honest failure mode here isn't the driving, it's the paperwork. Logs get forgotten, sessions get double-counted or missed entirely, and then you're reconstructing six weeks of driving practice from memory the week before a DPS appointment.

Download the free Texan Driver combined driving log using the form at the top of this post to have it emailed to you, or the download button at the bottom of the page. One printable PDF with both the 14-hour and 30-hour logs already formatted the way TDLR expects, so you can print it once, keep it in the glove box, and fill it in after every drive.

If your teen hasn't started the classroom portion yet, they can begin as early as 14, even though the permit itself waits until 15. Texan Driver is a TDLR-approved (Provider C3593), fully online parent-taught course built for exactly this process, from the classroom hours through the DE-964 certificate you'll need to apply for the permit.

See how Texan Driver works.