No amount of background, previous employment, credentials, experience or talent will help teach today's students if it is not solidly rooted in the foundation of providing an individualized education that connects with, and engages the students.

Assistant Instructor:
  1.) Must have obtained a driving instructor certification by the Department of Driver Services or have passed all of their criteria. (Current employment as a DDS instructor not required.), or  
  2.) Law enforcement Officer or First Responder, or
  3.) Certified Teacher

Associate's Level:
  1.) 0-1 year driver training experience.
  2.) College-level courses (2) in Education verifiable by transcript. (EDU or EDUC)
  3.) Minimum 2 years experience in teaching, training or education, verifiable by resume.
  4.) Must provide 25 verifiable, favorable references from parents and/or students.
  5.) Minimum 2 years experience in retail or high-volume customer contact position verifiable by resume.

Bachelor's Level:
Meets Associate's Level criteria and,
  1.) 1-5 years driver training experience.
  2.) College-level course in Geometry verifiable by transcript. (GEO or GEOM)
  3.) Minimum 5 years experience in teaching, training or education, verifiable by resume.
  4.) Must provide 50 verifiable, favorable references from parents and/or students.
  5.) Minimum 2 years experience working with Law Enforcement or Public Education.

Master's Level:
Meets Bachelor's Level criteria and,
  1.) 5+ years driver training experience.
  2.) College-level course in Psychology verifiable by transcript. (PSY or PSYC)
  3.) Minimum 10 years experience in the automotive training industry verifiable by resume.
  4.) Minimum 10 years experience in research related to the automotive and/or transportation industry.
  5.) Must have traveled nationally speaking on teen driving.
  6.) Minimum 100 verifiable, favorable references from parents and/or students.
  7.) Degreed in Science, Physics, Mathematics or Education.

Professionalism:
In order to be certified by the NDDI, instructors must strictly adhere to the following guidelines:
  1.) Must submit to background check.
  2.) Proper grooming.
  Men: No hair longer than neckline, ears uncovered, facial hair must be neatly groomed.
  Women: Hair longer than shoulders must be secured.
  3.) Men: No piercing, tattoos, body art or any other form of self-mutilation.
  4.) Women: Only ear piercing acceptable.
  5.) Correct and proper command of the English language.

Continuing Certification:
Must submit 10 favorable from parents and 10 from students by December 1st, annually.
Annual registration fees still apply.


Consumer alert:
To verify the NDDI Certification of any Defensive Driving instructor:
  E-mail the instructor's name and company to: programcertification@nationaldefensivedrivinginstitute.org
An NDDI-approved program's web-site will display one of the following seals of instructor certifications: 

 

Defensive Driving instructors meeting the following requirements may submit to be certified. Contact the NDDI at: instructorcertification@nationaldefensivedrivinginstitute.org