Every new school bus, transit or charter driver needs federal ELDT theory before the skills test for Class B, Passenger and School Bus. ELDT365 delivers the theory online for $20 per course and files each completion to the FMCSA registry the same day. You keep behind-the-wheel and your state certificate course. That is the whole arrangement.
The federal ELDT theory curriculum for Class B (Appendix B), Passenger (Appendix C) and School Bus (Appendix D) of 49 CFR Part 380, taught by FMCSA-qualified theory instructors of record and finished with an assessment the driver must pass at 80% or better. Drivers do it on a phone or laptop, usually in one or two sittings per course.
Federal rule is midnight of the second business day. We file the moment the driver passes and their license number, state and date of birth are on the record. Your dashboard shows the filed date next to each driver, and your state licensing agency checks the registry before the skills test.
Passenger and School Bus ELDT also include behind-the-wheel range and public-road instruction. There are no federal minimum hours, but it must come from a provider on the registry. Most districts and contractors are that provider themselves. ELDT365 does not provide BTW.
Almost every state layers its own school bus driver training and certificate on top of ELDT. ELDT does not replace it, and your state page below spells out exactly what your state requires and who delivers it.
Transportation directors and training coordinators onboarding new drivers before August. Enroll a cohort in one paste, bill it to one card or one PO, and see every filing date on one screen. Your state-certified instructors keep teaching the state course and BTW.
Terminal and safety managers who need the theory done before the state certificate class starts, across multiple locations. One account per location or one for all, receipts per driver, and a help button your drivers can use themselves.
Operator training academies that want to cut classroom days out of the pipeline. New Class B and Passenger hires finish the federal theory before day one of your academy. FTA's 2024 safety plan rule (49 CFR 673.29) makes training documentation part of your compliance; every completion here comes with a record.
Class B with Passenger, sometimes Class A. Theory online, BTW in your equipment, filed the same day. No air brake restriction? That is a state test, not ELDT.
Schools that teach the bus but not the theory, or that lost their own registry listing. We file the theory under our registration; you teach and file the driving. Students pay $20 or you buy seats and set your own tuition.
Programs placing people into bus driving jobs. Enroll trainees under your account, pay per seat, and hand a filed ELDT record to the employer with the graduate.
Two minutes at /school-register. No contract, nothing charged for the dashboard. You get a school code, a roster, and per-driver filing status.
Card on file and be billed $20 per course as you enroll, or prepay a block of seats and hand drivers a code. Public agencies: we provide a W-9, a quote on letterhead, and a receipt per driver for your PO.
One at a time, or paste a whole roster. Pick Class B, Passenger, School Bus, or all three. Each driver gets a login by email the moment you add them. You do not need their license number to enroll them; they enter it at the end.
Drivers work through the theory, pass at 80%, enter their license number, state and date of birth, and the completion goes to the FMCSA registry the same day. You see it on your dashboard.
Behind-the-wheel training and your state certificate course stay with you. ELDT theory is the part that was eating your instructor hours; now it is $20 and off your calendar.
Each course is $20 per driver: Class B $20, Passenger $20, School Bus $20. A brand-new school bus driver who needs all three is $60. Drivers who already hold a Class B and only need the endorsements are $40. Schools can put a card on file and be billed per driver as they enroll, or prepay seats and hand out a code. No minimum, no contract.
For comparison: most online providers charge $20 to $25 per course and either sell only to individual drivers or require a seat minimum for fleet pricing. ELDT365 has no minimum and the fleet price is the same $20 as the retail price.
FMCSA sets the floor. Your state almost certainly sets a higher bar for school bus drivers specifically: a state certificate, mandated classroom and in-bus hours, a physical performance test, annual refreshers, and in some states a separate permit. None of that is replaced by ELDT, and none of it can be done online through us. It is delivered in person by your district, a regional education agency, or a state-certified instructor.
That is exactly why the theory is worth outsourcing. Your instructors have a fixed number of hours, and the state course and BTW can only be taught by them. The federal theory can be taught by anyone on the registry. Moving it to $20 online frees those hours for the training only you can do.
Pick your state below for what applies, with the agency, the hours, and the refresher cycle.
40 hours minimum (20 classroom, 20 behind the wheel) under the CHP School Bus Program and CDE curriculum, plus a CHP test and first aid. California details
20-hour School Bus Driver Safety Certification through your regional Education Service Center, 8-hour recert every 3 years. Texas details
40 hours pre-service under Rule 6A-3.0141 (20 classroom, 8 behind the wheel, CPR and first aid), delivered by the district. Florida details
3-hour pre-service before transporting students, 30-hour Basic Course in the first year, Article 19-A qualification file. New York details
Secretary of State school bus driver permit, 8-hour initial course through your Regional Office of Education, 2-hour annual refresher. Illinois details
20 hours in two halves: 10 before the skills test, 10 within 120 days after the S endorsement. Pennsylvania details
15 hours pre-service classroom and 12 hours on-bus before carrying pupils; FMCSA denied Ohio's request to substitute this for ELDT. Ohio details
24 hours initial training under GaDOE Rule 160-5-3-.08 through your local school system. Georgia details
NCDMV trains and certifies school bus drivers directly, with district sponsorship; roughly 16 classroom and 18 road hours. North Carolina details
Beginning School Bus Driver class (about 18 to 21 hours) through your ISD or RESA, 10 hours behind the wheel first. Michigan details
Employer safety program under N.J.A.C. 6A:27, no fixed hours, Office of Student Protection approval before routes. New Jersey details
24 classroom hours plus 6 behind the wheel for non-CDL holders under Va. Code 22.1-181; some topics must be in person. Virginia details
OSPI School Bus Driver Authorization; course length set by OSPI and taught by your district's authorized instructor. Washington details
DPS Student Transportation Unit: 14 classroom and 20 behind-the-wheel hours plus a physical performance test. Arizona details
RMV school bus certificate: about 60 hours for non-CDL holders (28 classroom, 32 behind the wheel). Massachusetts details
Same federal rule, same $20 theory. If your state has its own school bus program, it still applies. Email support@eldt365.com with your state and we will tell you what we know before you enroll anyone.
We will not tell you ELDT is required before the knowledge test for Class B, Passenger or School Bus. It is required before the skills test. Some providers get this wrong on their own pages.
We will not tell you School Bus ELDT is theory-only. The federal School Bus curriculum includes behind-the-wheel range and public-road instruction. There are no minimum hours, but it exists and it has to come from a registered provider.
We will not tell you ELDT replaces your state school bus certificate, or that our theory counts toward your state's classroom hours. It does not. If a provider tells you otherwise, ask them to show you the state rule.
We will not promise a specific number of hours until the DMV can see the filing. Federal rule is two business days. We file the same day, and most state systems see it within a day, but the registry is theirs, not ours.
Before the skills test, for Class B, Passenger and School Bus. FMCSA requires that drivers complete both theory and behind-the-wheel training from a registered provider before the state-administered skills test. Only the HAZMAT endorsement ties ELDT to the knowledge test. In practice most drivers do the theory first so it is out of the way before their permit even issues.
No. FMCSA sets no minimum hours for ELDT theory or behind-the-wheel for any curriculum. Theory requires an 80% score on the assessment. Your state school bus program almost certainly does set hours, and those still apply.
No. ELDT is the federal floor. Your state certificate, classroom hours and refresher requirements still apply, and they are almost always delivered in person by your district, a regional agency or a state-certified instructor. FMCSA said this plainly when it denied Ohio's request to substitute its state program for ELDT in May 2022.
Usually you. School districts, transit agencies and contractors can register on the Training Provider Registry as their own BTW provider, and most already have. If you are not registered, we can point you to the FMCSA registration page or a registered BTW provider near you.
Only if they held the endorsement before February 7, 2022. A current Class B holder adding Passenger or School Bus for the first time needs ELDT for each endorsement. A driver who held P or S before that date is grandfathered.
Card on file, or prepaid seats on a PO. We send a W-9, a quote, and a receipt per driver. At $20 a seat, a full summer cohort usually lands under most small-purchase thresholds, but check yours.
A roster with each driver, the courses assigned, progress, whether they have logged in, the completion date and the FMCSA filing date. Receipts for every payment. A help button that reaches us directly.
Every driver is emailed a login when enrolled. If one did not arrive, the help button on your dashboard can resend it in seconds, or the driver can use Forgot password with the email you enrolled them under.
Free school account, $20 per course per driver, filed to the FMCSA registry the same day. W-9 and quote on request for public agencies.
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