How much does Arizona defensive driving school actually cost?

Four numbers: the school's tuition, a $24.00 Arizona State Fee, a $45.00 state surcharge, and your court's diversion fee. Our tuition is $39.95, everything included, with a $0.00 processing fee. The state and court amounts are set by law and your court. They're identical no matter which school you pick. Use the calculator on this page for your court's exact total.

In Arizona, "traffic school" for a ticket is the court's defensive driving program. The cost is the same four numbers. They are school tuition, the $24.00 state fee, the $45.00 state surcharge, and your court's fee. Our tuition is $39.95 with nothing added at checkout. Pick your court in the calculator above to see your exact total.

Because they're not the school's money. Arizona law sets both amounts. Certified schools collect them with your registration, hold them in trust, and pass them through to the state and your court. No school can waive, discount, or absorb them. So the only number worth comparing between schools is tuition, on a true-total basis.

Sometimes, but that's the wrong comparison. Paying the program's fees is what Arizona law calls payment in lieu of the fine. You pay the class costs instead of the fine and its surcharges, and fines vary widely by violation and court. What the class buys that paying never can: the citation is dismissed. No points are assessed, and for non-CDL drivers nothing reaches your driving record for your insurance company to see.

It's the court's own program fee, set by the presiding judge of each court (with superior-court approval). That's why Phoenix, Scottsdale, and a justice court can all charge different amounts for the same program. Courts may change it at most twice a year, and new amounts take effect only on April 1 or October 1. The fee that applies to you is the one in effect on your violation date.

Courts have the authority to waive their diversion fee — the state fee and surcharge stay. If cost is a genuine hardship, ask your court about a waiver before you register. The decision is entirely the court's.

Tuition — nothing else. Every other line on your receipt is identical at every certified school. That's why teaser pricing works. A low headline price plus a processing fee can quietly pass a flat $39.95 that included everything from the start. Compare totals, not headlines.

No. $39.95 is our filed, flat price — course, audio read-along, certificate, and electronic court filing, with processing at $0.00. The checkout total matches this page to the penny, plus the state and court amounts shown in the calculator.

No — that's the deal at the center of the diversion program. Your eligible citation is dismissed on completion. The program's fees take the place of the fine and its surcharges. You pay the class costs. The violation itself costs you nothing and, for non-CDL drivers, never reaches your record.