Driving school FAQ · Chico, CAStraight answers.Before you ever get in the car.

Complete a DMV-licensed driver education course (30 hours) to receive the DL 400C certificate. Pass the DMV written test at 15½ or older to get your instruction permit. Then complete 6 hours of behind-the-wheel training with a licensed school like Stallion, practice with a licensed adult, and take the DMV drive test.

Yes. You get a California instruction permit by passing the written test at the DMV, and the student brings the original permit to every lesson. Enter the permit details (number, issue and expiration dates) in your account; a permit photo is optional but speeds up approval. Your instructor checks the original permit in person at lesson 1.

Yes. Our online drivers ed is a DMV-approved 30-hour course (course license E0159), $49.95 one time, and it leads to the DL 400C certificate you need for the permit. You can start today on a phone or computer: enroll in online drivers ed.

The course has its own login: log in to your course with the email address and phone number used when you enrolled (Find My Login on that page helps if you forgot them). Your account on this website is separate: it is for behind-the-wheel lessons.

The DMV asks drivers under 18 to wait 14 days before they retest (California Driver Handbook, dmv.ca.gov). Many families use that time for one more Gold lesson, or the DMV exam package so the retest is in our car.

Chico: pickup at home, school or work, or start at our office. Every other town starts at a set meeting point, and the lesson is driven on Chico roads: Orland and Corning at our Chico office; Durham, Oroville, Gridley and Biggs at Durham High School; Paradise at Starbucks on the Skyway or Paradise High School. In Chico you can also start at our office at 30 Landing Circle, Suite 102, and drop-off can be a different place in Chico.

Chico has the widest mix of roads to practice in one lesson: busy intersections, multi-lane streets, downtown traffic and Highway 99. So students from other towns meet their instructor at a set point on the way in (our Chico office, Durham High School, or in Paradise Starbucks on the Skyway or Paradise High School) and the lesson is driven on Chico roads. You see the exact spot when you book, before you pay.

Yes, free from your account at least 48 hours before the start. Just booked? Any change or cancellation within 60 minutes of booking is also free, even for a lesson that starts sooner than 48 hours away. Otherwise, between 24 and 48 hours it is a late change: we review documented emergencies, otherwise the lesson is used. Under 24 hours the lesson is used. Restoring a used lesson costs $95. Checkout shows the exact free-change deadline for your lesson before you pay.

Lessons for the same student are at least 2 days apart, so there is time to practice in between. Road test coming up or an emergency? Call or text the office: we can book a closer day for you.

Online booking opens 60 days ahead. Online booking closes 4 hours before the lesson starts; for anything sooner, text or call 530-630-9998.

Every lesson is 2 hours and starts at 8 AM, 10:30 AM, 1 PM, 3:30 PM and 6 PM. The days and times still open show live on the booking page and update as families book.

Payments aren’t refunded, but a lesson cancelled in time becomes a credit for the same student. Validity: Diamond and Gold: valid 1 year from purchase; DMV exam: valid 90 days from purchase. Cash refunds only when we cancel a lesson ourselves or the problem is on our side, for duplicate or unauthorized charges, or where the law requires. A lesson used by a late change, no-show or misconduct is not refunded. See the Customer Agreement.

Diamond · 6-hour teen training (teens under 18): $522.49, or $499.99 cash or Zelle; Gold · single 2-hour lesson (adult learners; many use one Gold lesson as a road-test warm-up; for test day with our car, choose the DMV exam package): $208.99, or $199.99 cash or Zelle; DMV exam · prep + exam day (4 hours of training (2 × 2-hour lessons) + our car for your DMV road test): $417.99, or $399.99 cash or Zelle. Listed prices are for card payment online; paying cash or check to your instructor at the lesson, or Zelle costs less.

No. DMV fees (the permit application, the license and any retest) are paid to the DMV, not to us. Check the current amounts on dmv.ca.gov.

Yes. Cash, check and Zelle pay the lower cash price (those ways cost us nothing, so the saving goes to you). Venmo, Cash App and card pay the listed price. Choose "Pay in person", then pay cash or check to your instructor at the lesson before driving begins, or send Zelle, Venmo or Cash App (the booking page shows our handles and QR codes). Zelle, Venmo and Cash App payments must be made before the lesson starts or at the lesson, before driving. Whole packages (Diamond, DMV exam) can be paid in person too: choose "Pay in person" and pay the full cash package price to your instructor at the first lesson, before driving begins. Paying in person books the lesson right away, just like paying online: you pay your instructor at the lesson, before driving. Fees such as lesson restoration are the same however you pay.

Yes. Paying at the lesson, or now by Zelle, Venmo or Cash App, books the lesson at once, just like paying online (Zelle pays the cash price; Venmo and Cash App the listed price). With an app payment we check the money arrived and send your receipt; if it never arrives, you pay your instructor at the lesson. To book you only need the student’s name and date of birth, and a parent’s phone for a teen. The permit details (number and dates), address, school and emergency contact are added after booking and needed before the first lesson; we remind you 7, 3 and 2 days before. A permit photo is optional but speeds things up; the instructor checks the original permit in person at lesson 1.

Two hours of private, one-on-one behind-the-wheel time with a licensed instructor.

Yes. Every instructor is DMV-licensed and background-checked, the school is fully insured, and every training car has an instructor brake. Together our instructors bring more than 15 years of teaching experience.

Modern SUVs rated IIHS Top Safety Pick+, such as our Mazda CX-50 and Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport. Every training car has an instructor brake and is marked with license E0271.

Automatic. Every training SUV (Mazda CX-50 and Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport models) is automatic, with a second brake for the instructor.

Yes. The Gold package is a single 2-hour lesson for adult learners: first-time drivers and brush-ups. Many adults use one Gold lesson as a road-test warm-up; for test day with our car, choose the DMV exam package.

Yes, with the DMV exam package (Prep + exam day): one lesson before test day, then our car and instructor on test day. The car is not rented on its own: the warm-up keeps the test safe and familiar. Book the DMV appointment first, then the package with that date. Teens who trained with another school can use it too.

4 hours (2 × 2-hour lessons) + our car for your DMV road test. Lesson 1 is exam prep; lesson 2 is on your DMV appointment day, so book the DMV appointment first. A no-show or a cancellation under 24 hours uses the lesson. Pay online, or in person: the full cash package price to your instructor at lesson 1, before driving. The package is valid 90 days from purchase.

Yes, if space allows or the student is more comfortable, especially in early lessons.

Yes. Add them as a student on your account and choose them when booking.

Change it in your account up to 4 hours before the lesson. After that, the approved location stands and the late-cancellation rule applies if the student can’t use it.

Up to 10 minutes, the instructor uses the buffer when safe. From 11 to 25 minutes, only actual driving time counts. More than 25 minutes late is a no-show and the lesson is used.