3.2 Records, Reports, and Completion Certification
Key Takeaways
- Both licensed drivers' schools and certified schools must retain business and student records **for 3 years** in a secure location, in hard copy or electronic format.
- A certified school must submit the program completion certification **electronically within 1 business day** of the student's completion (COMAR 11.23.02.09F and .37B(1)).
- Corrected completion information must be resubmitted electronically **within 1 business day** of notification of an error (COMAR 11.23.02.09H).
- Annual reports are due to the Administration **by January 31** for the previous calendar year (COMAR 11.23.01.08E; 11.23.02.09E).
- Withdrawing or transferring students receive Form **DE-003A** for classroom instruction and Form **DE-003B** for behind-the-wheel instruction (COMAR 11.23.02.38A).
The Three-Year Retention Rule
Both chapters use nearly identical language.
COMAR 11.23.01.08A — a drivers' school "shall maintain for 3 years in a secure location, in hard copy or electronic format, records and reports of all business activities of the school," including:
- Instructor employment records;
- Training vehicle insurance, maintenance, inspection, and registration records;
- Surety bond certificates;
- Results of tests and evaluations administered to each student;
- The number of students trained annually; and
- Signed student rights and responsibilities forms.
COMAR 11.23.02.09A — a certified school "shall maintain for at least 3 years" the same categories, except that item 5 is replaced with copies of each student's program completion forms.
Records shall be made available to the Administration during the school's posted business hours (11.23.01.08B; 11.23.02.09B). Electronic storage is expressly permitted; the requirement is a secure location, not paper.
Lost or destroyed records
If records become lost, mutilated, or destroyed, the school shall notify the Administration immediately, in writing, stating the date and circumstances (11.23.01.08C; 11.23.02.09C). There is no grace period and no threshold — any loss triggers immediate written notice.
Fatal crashes
A drivers' school "shall immediately notify the Administration of any vehicular crash involving a training vehicle resulting in a fatality" (11.23.01.08D). A certified school shall provide the same notice in writing within 1 business day (11.23.02.09D).
Annual Reports (due January 31)
| Drivers' school (11.23.01.08E) | Certified school (11.23.02.09E) | |
|---|---|---|
| Deadline | By January 31 for the previous calendar year | By January 31 for the previous calendar year |
| Submission | Electronically, in the required format | In the required format |
| Contents | Number of students trained annually and each student's name, soundex or license number, and date of birth | Number of applicants and students enrolled; and the number of program students who were deaf and hard of hearing, were 18 years old or older, required additional or remedial training, dropped out before completion, or transferred to another school |
The certified-school report is a program-evaluation instrument, which is why it breaks out accessibility, adult learners, remediation, attrition, and transfers.
Completion Certification (COMAR 11.23.02.37 and .09F-H)
A certified school shall submit a program completion certification to the Administration, in the MVA's format, for each student who successfully completes the program (.37A).
Effective January 1, 2009, a certified school:
- Shall submit the completion certification electronically in the MVA's format within 1 business day of the student's completion of the program;
- May submit completion information on-line for a student who never received a license and lost a previously issued Driver Education Program Completion Certificate Form DE-004, provided the school still holds the student's records;
- May not issue a Form DE-004 to any student who completed a program course after December 31, 2008; and
- Was required to return all unused DE-004 inventory and accounting information to the MVA by April 1, 2009.
COMAR 11.23.02.09G requires the completion certification report to include successful completion of both classroom and behind-the-wheel program instruction. §H requires the school to electronically submit corrected information within 1 business day of notification of any errors.
The one-business-day rule, three times over
Completion certification (.09F), corrections (.09H), and the certified-school fatality notice (.09D) all run on a 1 business day clock. So does submission of the annual State inspection certificate for a training vehicle (11.23.01.22D; 11.23.02.33D). Where COMAR 11.23 wants speed, it says one business day.
Related: COMAR 11.23.02.08A(9)(b) requires the school to inform the student that the driving record will not be updated by the Administration for at least 3 business days after completion. The school reports in one business day; the record posts in about three. Students and parents frequently confuse the two, and instructors are expected to explain the difference.
Transfer and Reciprocity (COMAR 11.23.02.38)
§A — a certified school shall provide the student documentary evidence of any program instruction successfully completed:
- Classroom Student Record and Completion Form DE-003A, signed by an authorized school official, documenting classroom instruction completed; and
- Behind-the-Wheel Student Record and Completion Form DE-003B, signed by an authorized school official, documenting behind-the-wheel instruction completed.
§B — the Administration may accept documentary evidence of satisfactory completion of a driver education program from another state or jurisdiction as meeting the requirements of Transportation Article, §16-105, if the out-of-state program meets or exceeds Maryland's statutory requirements and standards.
Keep the form numbers straight: DE-003A = classroom transfer record; DE-003B = behind-the-wheel transfer record; DE-004 = the retired paper completion certificate that may no longer be issued for courses completed after December 31, 2008.
Worked scenario
Case. A student finishes the last behind-the-wheel hour at 6:00 p.m. on a Friday. The school transmits the completion certification the following Tuesday and tells the family the MVA record will be current immediately.
Analysis. Two defects. The transmission is late: COMAR 11.23.02.09F requires electronic submission within 1 business day of the student's completion, which here means by the end of Monday. And the statement to the family contradicts COMAR 11.23.02.08A(9)(b), which requires the school to inform the student that the driving record will not be updated for at least 3 business days after completion.
How long must a Maryland certified driver education school retain records of tests and evaluations administered to each student?
Within what period must a certified school electronically submit a student's program completion certification to the Administration?
A student withdraws from a certified school after finishing part of the course. Which forms document the completed instruction for transfer to a new school?
What must a Maryland driving school do if its student and business records are destroyed in a fire?