Once every 12 months. That's the Texas clock on using a driving safety course to dismiss a ticket, and it runs from your last course-based dismissal, so the question a court asks isn't when you took the course, it's when a course last got a charge dismissed for you.
One genuinely new wrinkle makes the once-a-year math friendlier than it used to be. Under SB 296, effective September 1, 2025, a single course can now dismiss multiple eligible charges filed in the same case, where drivers used to have to pick one ticket and eat the rest. If you picked up two eligible violations in one stop, that's no longer a choice between them.
A few edges on the clock. The 12-month limit applies to the dismissal mechanism, so a court reviewing your request will check your record for a course dismissal in the preceding year. It's court-granted, not automatic: you request it, pay the court's fee, capped at $10 by state rule, and complete the approved 6-hour course by the court's deadline. And CDL holders are outside the program entirely, at any frequency, even for tickets in a personal vehicle.
If you're inside the 12-month window with a fresh ticket, the course route is closed but the ticket still has options, deferred disposition being the usual next conversation with the court. And if you're eligible, the math is on our cost page: about $25 to dismiss a ticket carrying real insurance exposure.
Approved online courses are compared on the Texas page.