1.2 Instructor Certification: Eligibility, Background Rules, Renewal & Conduct

The PDI exam is one step in a certification process run by the RMV under M.G.L. c. 90, s. 32G and 540 CMR 23.00. The exam tests the Manual, but an instructor who misunderstands the certification rules can lose the certificate as quickly as one who fails the test.

Who Needs a Certificate

Under 540 CMR 23.03, no person may give instruction for hire in operating a motor vehicle without RMV certification. Two definitions in 540 CMR 23.02 widen the rule:

• Instruction for hire means instructing people for a fee. A Class D road-test sponsor who is paid is presumed to be giving instruction for hire. Charging to sponsor a stranger's road test therefore requires certification.
• Instruction an employer or trade group gives so workers can get a Class A, B or C license is not instruction for hire.

RMV employees and agents instructing as part of their RMV duties are exempt. A Professional Driving School Instructor may teach only when engaged by a licensed professional driving school. A Public School Driver Education Instructor teaches only for a licensed public school program.

Eligibility Standards

Unsatisfactory driving record

540 CMR 23.02 defines an unsatisfactory driving record as either of these:

1. Any mandatory license suspension activity, or any revocation, within the preceding two years that was based on a moving violation.
2. Any OUI conviction under c. 90, s. 24 within the preceding five years. A person who accepted a 24D disposition (the first-offender alcohol program) is treated as convicted for this rule.

Once a license is reinstated, the Registrar may still issue a certificate after reviewing "the nature and circumstances" of the record. The rule is not an automatic lifetime bar.

The Driving Instructor Training Course (DITC)

The RMV's professional driving school page sets the DITC at at least 65 hours:

New applicants need the DITC. So do instructors whose certification has lapsed for more than two years (the RMV's older March 2024 sheet said four years; the current page says two). Only RMV-approved schools may offer a DITC. Such a school must have a full-time owner or manager who has held an instructor certificate for 2 consecutive years, 2 years of experience as a certified school teaching both classroom and on-road instruction, and 2 violation-free years.

Special Instructor Types

• CDL instructors need 24 months of full-time service as a Class A operator, plus documented authorization from the Division of Professional Licensure.
• Driver Skills Development Program (DSDP) instructors qualify in one of three ways. They may have one year of experience at an existing DSDP. They may have one year at a professional driving school plus proof of the needed skills. Or an existing DSDP may sponsor them through a set training path: completing the program as a student, then three courses as a back-seat observer, three as a supervised student-instructor and three as the primary instructor under supervision.

Term, Renewal and Reporting Duties

• A certificate is valid for one year from issuance and is renewed annually for a $25 non-refundable fee. Public high school instructors pay no fee but must show proof of employment on school letterhead.
• Every renewal triggers a new criminal history check and driving record check. Allow 7–10 business days for processing.
• An instructor who renews after a 24-month gap in certification must repeat the DITC and pass the 100-question exam again.
• An applicant or certified instructor must notify the Registrar in writing:
  • within 3 days of a criminal conviction, or of an arrest for a crime of moral turpitude;
  • immediately if their license or right to operate is suspended or revoked in any jurisdiction;
  • within 30 days of a change of name or address.
• The Registrar may require continuing education or updated competency exams. The Registrar must immediately suspend a certificate when the holder is criminally charged with an offense threatening public safety, or is the subject of a c. 119, s. 51A child-abuse report. The certificate is not restored unless the charge ends in the holder's favor or the report is dismissed.

Good cause for denying or revoking a certificate includes false statements, a past revoked school or instructor license, any felony or crime of violence, fraud, dishonesty or moral turpitude, lack of good character, and an unsatisfactory driving record.

Professional Conduct and Instruction Vehicles

The RMV requires instructors to act professionally and to take responsibility for each student's well-being and safety. A student may never be left unattended. Instructors may not use a cell phone or engage in any other distracting behavior while teaching. 540 CMR 23.05 adds that no one may use a cell phone in the vehicle while a student is driving, except to get emergency help, and that no one may smoke during instruction.

Each instruction vehicle must:

• have passed its most recent Massachusetts safety and emissions inspection and any RMV site inspection;
• be registered and insured as a commercial vehicle;
• have at least a driver's frontal air bag and a working safety belt for every seat;
• have dual brake controls, as M.G.L. c. 90, s. 7 requires;
• display the school's name and main phone number, and the words "Student Driver", in letters at least 1.5 inches high and 0.5 inch wide. "Student Driver" must be visible from the front and the rear; a roof sign may also be used.

The Driver's Manual repeats the road-test version of this rule: driving instruction vehicles must have a second foot brake for the instructor or examiner and must display proper signage.