Florida TLSAE and DETS Requirements: Who Takes Which Course
Florida requires a driver education course before a first-time applicant can complete their license or learner permit application, and which specific course applies is set entirely by the applicant's age. This page lays out the exact requirement text, the statute behind it, and the narrow exemptions and grandfather rule that determine whether you take TLSAE, DETS, or nothing at all.
This site is an independent information resource. It does not decide which course FLHSMV will accept for your application; only FLHSMV does that. See Affiliate disclosure for how this site is compensated.
Who Must Complete Florida's Drug and Alcohol Course Requirement?
Every first-time Florida driver license or learner permit applicant, split by age: applicants 18 and older complete the 4-hour TLSAE course under F.S. 322.095, and applicants under 18 complete the 6-hour DETS course tied to F.S. 322.1615's learner's-license education requirement. F.S. 322.095(1) exempts an applicant who "has been licensed in another jurisdiction" or who "has satisfactorily completed a Department of Education driver education course offered pursuant to s. 1003.48," so TLSAE does not apply to someone transferring an existing license, or to someone who already took a Florida high school driver education course; DETS carries the same kind of prior-license exemption for minors previously licensed elsewhere.
Neither course has a behind-the-wheel driving component. Driving skill itself is tested through Florida's separate Class E knowledge and driving exams, which are administered outside this education requirement. See Permit exam for how the two pieces relate.
How Many Hours Does Each Course Require?
TLSAE requires a minimum of 4 hours of course content (minus up to 30 minutes for breaks) for applicants 18 and older; DETS requires 6 hours for applicants under 18, and a provider cannot legally shorten either. TLSAE also requires passing an in-course knowledge check before a completion certificate is issued, though the statute does not standardize the check's exact format. Online providers commonly track active time-on-task to enforce the hour minimum, which is why a course cannot realistically be finished in a fraction of the required time.
What Changed on August 1, 2025?
Before that date, Florida did not split first-license education cleanly by age; effective August 1, 2025, FLHSMV's Driver Education Traffic Safety (DETS) requirement took effect for applicants under 18, while TLSAE narrowed to apply only to applicants 18 and older. This was a genuine structural change, not a renaming: DETS is a distinct 6-hour course with its own FLHSMV approval pathway, separate from TLSAE's existing provider-approval process. A provider approved to teach TLSAE was not automatically approved to teach DETS on that date; each course carries its own FLHSMV approval.
Is There a Grandfather Rule for Minors Who Already Took TLSAE?
Yes. A minor who completed TLSAE before August 1, 2025 still satisfies the requirement, but only if the learner license is obtained within one year of that completion date; after the window closes, the minor must complete DETS instead. This is a narrow, date-bound exception, not a permanent equivalence between the two courses, per FLHSMV's own published DETS guidance. A family that delayed applying for a learner license after a teen completed TLSAE should check this window carefully before assuming the old certificate still counts.
What Does Each Course Actually Cost the State, Versus the Provider?
F.S. 322.095 sets a $3.00 per-completion assessment fee for TLSAE, collected by the provider and remitted to FLHSMV; several DETS providers list the same $3.00 fee separately from their own course price. The $3.00 TLSAE figure comes directly from F.S. 322.095(4). See Cost for how providers price the course itself on top of that state fee.
See also: Florida drug and alcohol course hub | Cost | Approved providers | TLSAE vs DATA | FAQ
Sources
| Fact | Value | Authority | URL | Verified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TLSAE statute, 4-hour minimum, 18+, prior-license/prior-course exemption | F.S. 322.095 | Florida Legislature | http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0300-0399/0322/Sections/0322.095.html | 2026-09-19 |
| Learner's-license driver-education-course requirement DETS is built on | F.S. 322.1615 | Florida Legislature | http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0300-0399/0322/Sections/0322.1615.html | 2026-09-19 |
| DETS name, 6-hour requirement, eff. 2025-08-01, one-year TLSAE grandfather window | Driver Education Traffic Safety (DETS) | FLHSMV | https://www.flhsmv.gov/driver-licenses-id-cards/education-courses/driver-improvement-schools/driver-education-traffic-safety-dets/ | 2026-09-19 |
| $3.00 per-completion state fee, TLSAE | $3.00 | FLHSMV / F.S. 322.095 | http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0300-0399/0322/Sections/0322.095.html | 2026-09-19 |
| No general adult certificate expiration in statute or rule | None | FLHSMV / Florida Administrative Code | https://www.flrules.org/gateway/ruleNo.asp?id=15A-8.0061 | 2026-09-19 |
| Driver License Customer Service phone | 850-617-2000 | FLHSMV | https://www.flhsmv.gov/contact-us/ | 2026-09-19 |
Frequently asked questions
Can an 18-year-old take DETS instead of TLSAE?
FLHSMV's rules build DETS for applicants under 18 and TLSAE for applicants 18 and older; no provision lets an 18+ applicant substitute DETS for TLSAE, so treat the age line as firm and confirm directly with FLHSMV if your situation is unusual.
What if I turn 18 partway through shopping for a course?
Your age on the day you actually complete the course and apply is what should matter under the age-split rule, but no statute or rule spells out this specific edge case - confirm with FLHSMV (850-617-2000) or your chosen provider before enrolling.
Does completing TLSAE or DETS get me a Florida license by itself?
No. It satisfies the education requirement only. You still need to complete the license or learner permit application and pass Florida's separate knowledge and driving exams. See Learner's license.
Is the $3.00 fee charged once or every time I retake a section?
F.S. 322.095(4) describes it as a per-completion fee tied to course completion, not a per-attempt fee; confirm with your provider if you are required to retake any section.
Does a TLSAE or DETS certificate expire?
TLSAE's certificate is valid for use in the original license application. The only dated expiration FLHSMV publishes is the one-year grandfather window for a TLSAE course a minor completed before August 1, 2025. Neither F.S. 322.095's full text nor F.A.C. 15A-8.0061 (the Department's TLSAE course-approval rule) sets a general adult certificate expiration beyond that one-year minor grandfather window.
Where is the exact statute text for TLSAE and DETS?
TLSAE is codified at F.S. 322.095, published by the Florida Legislature; the under-18 DETS course requirement is built on F.S. 322.1615 and detailed further on FLHSMV's DETS page.