Driving School Business and Recordkeeping Requirements
What this domain tests
This domain covers the business side of an Idaho driving school: licensing, insurance, approved vehicles, enrollment contracts, records, privacy, advertising, and audit readiness.
Licensing and operations
Operate only under the school license and instructor certifications required by the Idaho Transportation Department and applicable Idaho rules. Use approved vehicles with dual controls, current registration, insurance, and maintenance records. Maintain a written safety and incident-response policy.
Records
Keep enrollment agreements, fee and refund disclosures, guardian consent, permit and identity verification, attendance, behind-the-wheel logs, vehicle inspections, instructor qualification files, completion certificates, complaints, and crash or injury reports. Retain records for the period required by ITD and IDAPA; when unsure, keep them longer rather than purge early. Store paper and digital records securely and release student information only with consent or legal requirement.
Advertising must be truthful: no guaranteed licenses, no fake pass rates, and no unlicensed claims. State the school's legal name, license status if required, fees, and refund policy. Keep copies of ads and marketing claims.
Use clear refund and cancellation terms. Reconcile payments, issue receipts, and protect card data. Follow the school's accounting policy for prepaid tuition rather than treating it as unrestricted cash.
Worked example
A file shows 50 supervised hours, but three log entries are undated and one parent signature is missing. Do not fill in dates from memory or copy a signature. Contact the parent for a written, dated verification, document the correction, and delay the completion certificate until the record is defensible. Before an ITD audit, cross-check each certificate against attendance, hours, signatures, dates, and vehicle logs.
Traps
Pre-signing logs; keeping records only on a personal phone; using an unapproved vehicle; advertising a guaranteed pass; and discarding records before the retention period ends.