Your instructor picks you up at your confirmed address, checks your original California permit or license, and you drive for two hours in an automatic car with a brake on the instructor's side. The lesson starts from what you can already do. Afterwards, you get your skill scores by email, with a note from your instructor if they wrote one.
Come ready to drive safely. The DMV Handbook notes that tiredness can slow your reaction time, and that some medicines, including over-the-counter ones, can make you an unsafe driver (Handbook, section 5). Your instructor can stop or refuse a lesson if you can't drive safely.
No. Every lesson is just the student and the instructor, with no other passengers, including family and friends.
For a student under 18, a parent or guardian doesn't need to be there. They approve the pickup and drop-off addresses and stay reachable during the lesson.
Your two hours start at pickup. The instructor checks your permit or license before you drive.
Teens: the DMV says a student under 18 waits to use their instruction permit until they start behind-the-wheel training with an instructor, who validates the permit (Handbook, section 2). Your instructor validates it when training begins. From then on, your teen can practice between lessons with a California-licensed driver aged 25 or older, such as a parent. The DMV asks for at least 50 hours of this practice, 10 of them at night. Our teen driver checklist has the full list of steps.
The same Handbook section says driving instructors must carry an instructor's ID card, and you can ask to see it.
If you're running late: up to 30 minutes late, the lesson still runs but ends at the scheduled time. More than 30 minutes late, or if we can't find or reach you, it's a no-show.
The car is an automatic with dual controls: the instructor has their own brake. What you practice depends on where you're starting.
| If you are… | Your first lesson |
|---|---|
| New to driving, or nervous | Tell your instructor what worries you, and the lesson starts there. They set the pace. Heavy traffic and freeways wait until you're ready. |
| A teen starting the required training | Permit check, then vehicle control, observation, turns and intersections. |
| An experienced driver from another country | The main differences between your home-country rules and California law, and U.S.-style intersections and right-of-way. |
| A nanny or au pair on a Host Family Driving Assessment | City streets, parking and freeways, so the instructor can see how you drive. It reflects two hours of driving and can't guarantee how they'll drive later. |
Want to practice San Francisco's hills? They aren't part of every lesson, so ask when we confirm your date. Our guide to driving San Francisco's hills explains hill starts and curbing your wheels.
If you want to read ahead, section 5 of the DMV Handbook covers where to hold the steering wheel (9 and 3, or 8 and 4 o'clock) and when to signal.
The instructor drops you off at your confirmed drop-off address. The drive there is part of the lesson time, with no extra mileage charges.
You then get an email with:
For a student under 18, the parent or guardian gets the email too. There's no other written report.
Need to change your next lesson? Do it at least 48 hours ahead. With less notice, a $29.99 late-change fee or one used lesson may apply. Full details are in our Customer Policies.
No. One lesson shows you and your instructor where you're starting. How many more you need depends on your experience and how much you practice between lessons. No number of lessons guarantees a DMV test result; the examiner decides on the day. If you're starting from zero as an adult, read learning to drive as an adult in San Francisco.
Every package is on our Lessons & Pricing page. A single lesson is $200 for one 2-hour lesson, and teen training is $600 for three 2-hour lessons. Pickup is in San Francisco and listed San Mateo County cities.
Private 2-hour lessons in a dual-control automatic car, with pickup in San Francisco and listed San Mateo County cities.
Lessons from $200 for a 2-hour lesson. See all lessons and prices
