Virginia requires 24 classroom hours and 6 behind-the-wheel hours for new school bus drivers without a CDL (4 plus 3 for CDL holders) under Va. Code 22.1-181 and 8VAC20-70-350, with certain safety topics required in person. ELDT365 handles the separate federal theory for $20 per course.
Under 8VAC20-70-350, delivered by VDOE-certified division trainers. Existing CDL holders: at least 4 classroom and 3 BTW.
Va. Code 22.1-181 requires certain safety protocols to be taught in person. This is the clearest example in any state of why federal online theory and state training are separate.
Per 8VAC20-70-360, tracked by the division.
Division trainers certified by VDOE; VDOE runs the trainer certification.
Federal theory for B, P and S, done before the division course or alongside it, filed the same day. Your division trainer's 6 BTW hours are usually the federal BTW record if the division is on the registry.
Card on file or PO, W-9 and per-driver receipts provided.
Your division trainer schedules the classroom block; VDOE certifies the trainers.
Class B, Passenger and School Bus on ELDT365 before the classroom hours begin. Filed the same day.
For drivers without a CDL (4 for existing CDL holders). Va. Code 22.1-181 requires certain safety protocols to be taught in person, so none of it can be online.
3 for existing CDL holders. These are the federal BTW record if the division is on the registry.
At least 2 hours before school opens and 2 in the second half, per 8VAC20-70-360.
Class B, Passenger and School Bus are $20 each per driver. A driver who needs all three is $60; a Class B holder adding the two endorsements is $40. Virginia fleets can put a card on file and be billed as they enroll, or prepay seats on a PO with a W-9 and a quote. No minimum and no contract. The federal explainer, pricing comparison and who-this-is-for detail are on the bus driver overview.
Virginia's 24 classroom and 6 behind-the-wheel hours under Va. Code 22.1-181 satisfies Virginia. It does not satisfy FMCSA. A driver getting a Class B, Passenger or School Bus endorsement for the first time since February 7, 2022 also needs a federal ELDT record from a provider on the Training Provider Registry before the VA skills test. The two records live in two different systems: the state training with the Virginia Department of Education, the ELDT with FMCSA.
Division school bus driver trainers certified by the Virginia Department of Education.
At least 2 hours of in-service before school opens and at least 2 hours in the second half of the year, per 8VAC20-70-360. ELDT has no refresher.
No. That in-person requirement applies to Virginia's own topics: severe weather protocols, loading and unloading, and students on the wrong bus. Those are taught by your division trainer. Federal ELDT theory has no in-person requirement and FMCSA exempts online theory instructors from state instructor rules, so the two coexist.
At least 4 classroom hours and 3 behind-the-wheel with the division trainer instead of the 24 and 6. Federally, if the driver is adding P or S for the first time, they still need ELDT for each endorsement; only drivers who held the endorsement before February 7, 2022 are grandfathered.
Moves to us: the federal theory for Class B, Passenger and School Bus, and the FMCSA filing. Stays with you: Virginia's 24 classroom and 6 behind-the-wheel hours under Va. Code 22.1-181, behind-the-wheel, the physical, drug testing and background checks. Nothing about your Virginia certificate changes.
Free school account, $20 per course per driver, filed to the FMCSA registry the same day. Virginia's 24 classroom and 6 behind-the-wheel hours under Va. Code 22.1-181 stays exactly where it is.
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