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State Cert Guide

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Does Massachusetts make me take a driver education course?

In Massachusetts, the registrar requires a driver education program after the merit rating board reports 3 surchargeable incidents in the past 24 months and a hearing checks its records. With no proof within 90 days after the registrar mails the notice, the license or right to operate is suspended until proof arrives. We haven't confirmed whether a course can dismiss a ticket or lift a surcharge.

By State Cert GuideChecked against the sources listed below.Report a mistake

The rule, fact by fact

Required course
3 surchargeable incidents in 24 months: a required driver education programRead the notice for the course rule.
Verified. malegislature.gov (opens state website) · checked Nov 13, 2026
Deadline
No proof within 90 days of the notice: license suspended until proof arrivesThe days run from the date the registrar mails the notice.
Same source and date as above
Suspension
7 at-fault accidents or violation convictions in 3 years: 60-day suspensionA hearing on the board's records comes first.
Same source and date as above
Premiums
Premiums rise with 3 or more unsafe driver points in 5 yearsThis concerns your premiums, not your license.
Same source and date as above

How to get it done

  1. Step 1. Count your surchargeable incidents in the past 24 months. At 3, the registrar requires a program after a hearing that checks only whether the merit rating board's records are right.

  2. Step 2. The Registry names a mandatory National Safety Council course, or the Massachusetts Driver Retraining Program. Confirm with the Registry that the one you pick satisfies the registrar before you pay.

  3. Step 3. Send the registrar proof that you finished within 90 days after the registrar mails the notice. If you don't, your license or right to operate is suspended until the registrar gets proof.

Before you pay

Read the registrar's notice for the program it orders and its date.

Count 90 days from the day the registrar mailed the notice.

Confirm with the Registry of Motor Vehicles that the program you pick satisfies the registrar.

Don't pay a provider on the promise that a course will remove a surcharge or dismiss a ticket.

Questions

Which incidents count as surchargeable?

Among them are at-fault accidents and convictions of moving violations of motor vehicle laws, including payments under chapter 90C and assignments to a driver alcohol education program under section 24D of chapter 90.

Do tickets from another state count?

Yes. The Registry says the 3 surchargeable events in a 2-year period that lead to a suspension notice include out-of-state violations.

Is there a discount for a clean record?

Yes. The plan cuts premiums, with what it calls an excellent driver award, for every driver with no surchargeable incidents within the 5 years immediately preceding the applicable rate year.

What to do next

Read the registrar's notice before you pay anyone. Then read the Massachusetts law on the safe driver plan.

malegislature.gov

Sources we read