Instructor Licensing, Conduct, and Recordkeeping
Instructor licensing, conduct, and recordkeeping
This domain tests the personal and professional standards for Indiana driver education instructors: how to qualify, how to behave with students, and how to document training. Questions often turn on a single act-falsifying a log, leaving students unsupervised, or letting a license lapse.
Core requirements
- An instructor must be at least 21, hold a valid Indiana driver's license, have a high school diploma or equivalent, and have at least three years of licensed driving experience. The BMV requires a criminal background check and disqualifies applicants with certain convictions.
- Instructors complete a BMV-approved instructor preparation course and pass knowledge and skills tests. Licenses must be renewed; teaching on an expired license is prohibited.
- Conduct: no alcohol or drugs before or during instruction, no harassment or inappropriate contact, no personal use of the training vehicle, and no texting while a student drives. Instructors must remain alert and ready to use the dual brake.
- Recordkeeping: log each student's classroom attendance, behind-the-wheel hours, observation hours, and test results. Issue completion certificates only when the record supports it. Keep records confidential and retain them for the period the BMV requires.
Worked example
An instructor signs a completion certificate for a student who has finished only four of six required behind-the-wheel hours, planning to "make it up next week." This is falsification. The certificate represents that training is complete, and both the instructor and the school can face discipline.
Traps
Do not backdate logs. Do not let a student drive without a valid permit or while the instructor is distracted. Do not assume recordkeeping is clerical-missing or altered records are among the most common licensing violations.