Washington is adding three separate requirements for younger drivers, and they start on different dates. From November 1, 2026, anyone getting a first Washington license before turning 25 must pass a free online safety course. From January 1, 2027, first-time applicants who are 18 also need driver education, and drivers who already hold a first license face a mandatory course after two moving violations. Which one applies to you depends on your age and whether you are already licensed.
None of this means every driver under 25 has to take every course. The requirements below are separate programs with separate triggers, and they are easy to confuse because they arrived in the same bill. Here is what each one is, when it starts, and who it reaches.
The Deadlines at a Glance
| Date | What changes | Who it affects |
|---|---|---|
| September 1, 2026 | The Work Zone and First Responder course becomes available | Anyone who wants to take it |
| November 1, 2026 | That course becomes required to get a first license | First-time Washington applicants under 25 |
| January 1, 2027 | Driver education becomes required | First-time applicants who are 18 |
| January 1, 2027 | A safe driving course becomes mandatory after two moving violations | License holders 18 to 24 |
| 2028 through 2030 | The driver education age ceiling rises one year annually, reaching under 22 in 2030 | First-time applicants |
Who Must Take the Work Zone and First Responder Course?
The Department of Licensing puts it plainly: starting November 1, 2026, first-time Washington driver license applicants under the age of 25 must pass a free online course before they can be licensed.
Three things about it are worth knowing.
- It is free. The Department contracts with a provider to offer it at no cost.
- It takes about an hour and ends with a test.
- It applies to first licenses only. The Department states specifically that it is not required for renewals.
The age that matters is your age when you get that first license, not your age when you start the process. Someone who turns 25 before their license is issued falls outside the requirement.
Moving to Washington from another state counts. If you have never held a Washington license and you are under 25, you are a first-time Washington applicant even if you have been driving elsewhere for years. The Department applies the same November 1 language on its guidance for new residents.
What Does the Course Cover?
It covers work zone safety, first responders working at the roadside, and Washington's move-over requirements. The purpose behind it is reducing collisions with emergency crews and roadside workers, which is why the state made it a licensing condition rather than an optional class.
Who Will Need Driver Education Starting in 2027?
Washington is expanding mandatory driver training education to adults, one age at a time. The Department of Licensing describes the first step this way: starting January 1, 2027, applicants who are 18, meaning those born in 2009 or after, will be required to complete driver education.
The ceiling then rises annually:
- January 1, 2027: at least 18 and under 19
- January 1, 2028: at least 18 and under 20
- January 1, 2029: at least 18 and under 21
- January 1, 2030: at least 18 and under 22
The ladder stops there. It does not keep climbing to 25. Drivers who are 22 to 24 when they seek a first license are not swept into the driver education requirement by this schedule, though a separate condensed course applies to that group beginning in 2031.
The Department has said it is developing a voucher program to reduce driver education costs for some low-income individuals. If cost is the obstacle, that is worth asking about directly rather than assuming.
What Happens After Two Moving Violations If You Are 18 to 24?
This is the requirement most likely to affect someone who is already driving, and it is the one we field questions about.
Under RCW 46.20.1191, starting January 1, 2027, a driver who holds a Washington license obtained as their first license, and who is at least 18 and under 22, must complete a safe driving course once they are found to have committed a traffic infraction for a moving violation on two occasions. The same requirement reaches drivers 22 to 24 through the start of 2031.
The Department gives you 180 days from the date of its notice. If the course is not completed in that window, the Department suspends the license until it is completed. There is no fixed term that simply expires while you wait.
Two Details That Change the Math
First, the statute counts occasions, not tickets. Several infractions written at a single traffic stop count as one occasion. That is the same counting rule Washington uses for its general accumulation suspension.
Second, and this is the part that surprises people: the statute does not specify a period the two occasions have to fall within. Washington's general rule for all drivers counts three occasions within 12 months or four within 24 months. The text creating this young-driver requirement sets no comparable window.
It is also worth knowing which tickets count. A cell phone ticket does. Washington classifies using a personal electronic device while driving as a moving violation, so an E-DUI counts the same as a speeding ticket. A ticket amended to a non-moving violation does not count toward the total, which is often the entire point of contesting one.
How Is This Different From Washington's Other License Rules?
Four different things are easy to blur together. They are not the same.
- The under-18 intermediate license. A driver between 16 and 18 gets a warning letter after a first violation and a six-month suspension after a second, under RCW 46.20.267. That is a separate scheme that ends at 18. See our page on teen traffic infractions.
- The general accumulation suspension. Any driver faces a 60-day suspension after moving violations on three occasions in 12 months or four in 24 months. Our guide to how Washington counts violations covers this, including why the state has no points system.
- The new 18 to 24 course requirement. Two occasions, 180 days, suspension until completed. Described above.
- Court traffic school and deferrals. A deferred finding is a court process that can keep a ticket off your record entirely. It is not a licensing course and it is not interchangeable with any of the above. See whether traffic school can erase a ticket.
Completing a required safety course does not remove a ticket, reverse a finding, or undo an insurance increase. These courses are conditions attached to your license. They sit on top of whatever the ticket already did.
What Should a Young Driver Do After Getting a Ticket?
Pay attention to the first one. That is the whole answer, and it matters more now than it did a year ago.
Paying a ticket is treated as admitting it, and it enters a committed finding on your driving record. For a driver in this age range, that finding is no longer just an insurance problem. It is one of the two occasions that trigger a mandatory course and, if the course is missed, a suspension with no end date attached to it.
We do not handle license applications or driver education enrollment. What we do is contest the infractions that push a driver toward these thresholds, and there is usually more room to work on a first ticket than on a second. If you have a ticket and you are under 25, review your traffic ticket defense options before you pay it.
Sources
- Washington State Department of Licensing, Work zone and first responder course
- RCW 46.20.1191
- ESHB 1878, Chapter 299, Laws of 2025
- RCW 46.20.2892
Reviewed September 2026. Washington is still implementing these requirements, and Department of Licensing guidance may be updated before each date above.