Georgia Joshua's Law - 30-Hour Driver Education Course Online
Georgia's Joshua's Law requires every teen applying for a first-time Class D license at age 16 or 17 to complete a 30-hour driver education course approved by the Georgia Department of Driver Services (DDS), plus in-person driving practice. This site explains the full requirement, compares DDS-certified online providers, and links out to them. Georgiajoshuaslaw.com is an independent information site; it does not teach, deliver, or sell the course, and it is not the Georgia DDS. This site may earn a commission when a reader enrolls through certain provider links - see Affiliate Disclosure for the full statement, which is never buried or hidden on any page here.
What Is Joshua's Law in Georgia?
Joshua's Law (O.C.G.A. Section 40-5-22, from SB 226) requires a first-time Class D license applicant aged 16 or 17 in Georgia to complete a DDS-approved 30-hour driver education course plus in-person driving practice.
Georgia DDS, through its Regulatory Compliance Division, certifies the driver training schools - including online, virtual schools - that are allowed to teach the classroom portion. There are no exemptions for prior driving experience, private lessons, or an out-of-state course. The current requirement text lives on DDS's own Joshua's Law requirements page, which is the authority this site cites throughout. A separate statute, O.C.G.A. Section 40-5-24, governs the surrounding instruction-permit and graduated-licensing framework (the Class CP permit, the Class D provisional restrictions, and the eventual upgrade to Class C) that Joshua's Law fits into; see Georgia Class D License: Where Joshua's Law Fits In for how the two statutes relate.
The law was originally written for 16-year-old applicants only. Georgia House Bill 466 extended it to cover 17-year-old first-time applicants effective 2021-07-01, per Georgia DDS's own announcement. A first-time applicant at either age must complete the same 30-hour course; the requirement does not shrink for an applicant who waits until 17 to apply, and neither age gets a shortcut around any of the three components below.
Can the 30-Hour Joshua's Law Course Be Completed Online in Georgia?
Yes, the 30 classroom hours of Georgia's Joshua's Law course can be completed entirely through a DDS-certified online course at the teen's own pace, but the behind-the-wheel or parent-supervised driving component of the requirement always has to happen in person.
DDS explicitly authorizes self-paced, asynchronous delivery for the classroom portion of Joshua's Law, which sets it apart from Georgia's adult Driver Improvement and DUI Risk Reduction programs, both of which require live, synchronous instruction. Joshua's Law is the only Georgia driving product this site tracks where fully self-paced online completion of the theoretical hours is explicitly permitted.
This means an online-only purchase never finishes the requirement by itself. A family that buys a 30-hour online course still has to separately complete either the 6-hour certified behind-the-wheel option or the 40-hour parent/guardian-supervised driving log, including 6 hours at night. See the full requirements breakdown and behind-the-wheel options for exactly how each driving option works, including which one costs money and which one does not.
What Are the Four Ways to Complete Joshua's Law?
DDS recognizes four completion methods for Joshua's Law, and every one of them requires the full 30 classroom hours: classroom plus certified behind-the-wheel, classroom plus parent-taught driving, online plus certified behind-the-wheel, or online plus parent-taught driving.
The choice between a classroom or online format for the 30 hours is independent of the choice between the two driving options, so a family can mix and match based on schedule and budget.
| Method | Classroom / theory | In-person driving |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 30 hours, classroom (DDS-certified school) | 6 hours, certified behind-the-wheel |
| 2 | 30 hours, classroom (DDS-certified school) | 40 hours, parent/guardian-supervised (6 at night) |
| 3 | 30 hours, online (DDS-certified virtual school) | 6 hours, certified behind-the-wheel |
| 4 | 30 hours, online (DDS-certified virtual school) | 40 hours, parent/guardian-supervised (6 at night) |
Most families choosing an online course use Method 3 or Method 4, because the whole point of buying an online course is to skip a classroom seat, not to also pay for certified behind-the-wheel time when a parent is willing and able to log the 40 hours instead. See how the process works step by step for the full process and the behind-the-wheel options again for the two driving options.
How Much Does the Georgia Joshua's Law Course Cost?
DDS-certified schools' own pages show prices from about $29.95 to $45.95 for Georgia's 30-hour online Joshua's Law course, and Georgia DDS does not charge the student any per-completion state fee for the course itself.
Price is set entirely by each certified school; DDS's own driver-training fee ($25 for school recertification) is paid by the school, not by the family buying the course. The specific per-provider figures, each with its own source and date, are on the full cost comparison, including one provider whose own page does not display a fixed course price at all, which is why it is worth comparing more than one provider's actual checkout price before enrolling rather than buying the first result a search engine returns.
Which Providers Offer a DDS-Certified Online Joshua's Law Course?
Two providers linked on this site, Aceable and IDriveSafely, both self-report a Georgia DDS driver-training certification number on their own Georgia course pages, and they are the only two providers this site earns an affiliate commission from.
Neither is confirmed against Georgia DDS's own certified-school locator, an interactive tool at dds.drives.ga.gov that requires selecting a program type and county rather than offering a single searchable list. A self-reported certification number is a starting point to verify, not a substitute for checking with DDS. The full provider comparison lists both affiliate providers plus a longer, unlinked comparison list of other providers that self-report Joshua's Law approval, none of which is DDS-roster-confirmed either. Confirming a school's current certification status directly with Georgia DDS before paying is the single most important step in choosing a provider, more important than price or platform polish.
What Else Does Joshua's Law Require Besides the 30-Hour Course?
Besides the 30-hour classroom course, Georgia's Joshua's Law also requires either 6 hours of certified behind-the-wheel training or 40 hours of parent-supervised driving including 6 at night, plus a separate, free state ADAP program the course does not satisfy.
ADAP (the Alcohol and Drug Awareness Program) is a free, DDS-administered requirement, usually completed in the classroom at a teen's high school, with a free online option (eADAP) for teens who cannot access the classroom version; no commercial provider, including the ones linked on this site, can sell or substitute for it. See the behind-the-wheel options for the driving requirement and What Is ADAP in Georgia? for the ADAP requirement. Both are separate boxes a family has to check before DDS will accept a Class D license application; see where Joshua's Law fits into the Class D license for how all three pieces (30-hour course, driving requirement, ADAP) come together at the license counter, and in what order most families tackle them.
Sources
| Fact | Value | Authority | URL | Verified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Governing statute | O.C.G.A. Section 40-5-22 (SB 226, Joshua's Law) | Georgia DDS | https://dds.georgia.gov/georgia-licenseid/new-licenseid/joshuas-law-requirements | 2026-09-19 |
| Who must comply | First-time Class D applicant aged 16 or 17 | Georgia DDS | https://dds.georgia.gov/georgia-licenseid/new-licenseid/joshuas-law-requirements | 2026-09-19 |
| 2021 expansion to 17-year-olds | House Bill 466, effective 2021-07-01 | Georgia DDS | https://dds.georgia.gov/press-releases/2021-06-01/new-law-17-year-olds | 2026-09-19 |
| Classroom hours | 30 hours, online-eligible | Georgia DDS | https://dds.georgia.gov/regulated-programs/driver-training | 2026-09-19 |
| Behind-the-wheel option | 6 hours, certified school, in-person only | Georgia DDS | https://dds.georgia.gov/georgia-licenseid/new-licenseid/joshuas-law-requirements | 2026-09-19 |
| Supervised-driving option | 40 hours (6 at night), parent/guardian, in-person only | Georgia DDS | https://dds.georgia.gov/georgia-licenseid/new-licenseid/joshuas-law-requirements | 2026-09-19 |
| Per-completion state fee to student | None | Georgia DDS | https://dds.georgia.gov/regulated-programs/driver-training | 2026-09-19 |
| Online-course price range | $29.95 to $45.95 | Provider pages (Safe2Drive, IDriveSafely, Just Drive Right) | https://www.safe2drive.com/georgia-driver-education.aspx | 2026-09-19 |
Frequently asked questions
Is Georgia's Joshua's Law course the same as regular drivers ed?
Yes - "Joshua's Law course" and "Georgia driver education" refer to the same 30-hour requirement; Joshua's Law is simply the name of the statute (O.C.G.A. Section 40-5-22) that created it.
Does my teen have to be 16 to take the Joshua's Law course?
No - since the requirement was extended to cover 17-year-old first-time applicants effective 2021-07-01, either a 16-year-old or a 17-year-old first-time Class D applicant must complete the same 30-hour course.
Can my teen finish Joshua's Law using only an online course?
No - the 30-hour classroom portion can be completed online, but Georgia still requires either 6 hours of certified behind-the-wheel training or 40 hours of parent-supervised driving, completed in person, before the requirement is satisfied.
Does Georgia set the price of the Joshua's Law course?
No - Georgia DDS does not set a price floor or ceiling for the 30-hour course; each DDS-certified school sets its own price, which is why comparing more than one provider on the cost comparison matters.
Who enforces the Joshua's Law requirement?
Georgia DDS is the sole authority for certifying driver training schools and setting the Joshua's Law requirement; georgiajoshuaslaw.com is an independent aggregator, not DDS and not a provider (see About Georgia Joshua's Law).