Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 3, March 22, 2024
A. Every person, in order to qualify as an instructor for a driving school, in addition to meeting all applicable federal ELDT driver training requirements for commercial driving instructors, must, at the time of application, meet the following requirements:
(1) Be at least twenty-one years of age;
(2) Hold a valid South Carolina driver's license as defined in Section 56-1-20, 56-1-2030 (commercial), or a license of a foreign jurisdiction that is equivalent to the license for which the instructor is providing driver training on public roads. Any instructor may provide driver training without a current driver's license on non-public roads, so long as the instructor is otherwise qualified to provide the instruction.
(3) Submit a complete nationwide criminal background check to the Department that shows no convictions within the last ten years for: a felony, or for crimes involving fraudulent or dishonest activity. The Department may deny an instructor permit to:
(a) anyone convicted within the past ten years of criminal domestic violence;
(b) anyone listed on the Sex Offender Registry,
(c) anyone having been declared a habitual offender, or
(d) anyone convicted of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
(4) Have no revocations, cancellations or suspensions of driving privileges in the three (3) years immediately preceding the date of application;
(5) Have no convictions for traffic offenses involving moving violations totaling six (6) points in the year immediately preceding the date of application;
B. Every person, in order to qualify as an instructor for a driving school training non-commercial driver's licenses, must, at the time of application:
(1) Have at least five years of driving experience;
(2) Successfully complete a Department approved driver training instructor course which includes as a minimum thirty-four hours of formal classroom instruction in driver education and a minimum of six hours of actual behind the wheel training in driving instruction;
(3) Successfully complete a Department approved written test which includes as a minimum testing of the ability of the applicant to give driver instruction to others and/or both written and demonstrative methods.
C. Every person, in order to qualify as an instructor for a commercial driving school training commercial drivers must, at the time of application, have satisfied the requirements for inclusion into the federal Training Provider Registry ("TPR"), as set forth under 49 CFR, Subpart G, 380.703, et seq.
D. All driver training school instructors may have no more than six points on their driving record while maintaining instructor certification. While using a defensive driving credit will help on the driving record, the Department will use the current total points computation, not adjusted points.
