Choosing the WRESA “Online” driver education option: Important Information Prior to Registering

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• Driver’s Education Waiting List:  This is a NCDPI approved driver education course. There is no fee to join the waitlist and it does not register you for a course. When a course becomes available that the student is eligible to take, an email will be sent to the “Contact Email” in the student’s waitlist registration with information on registering and paying for the course. Classes typically rotate every 5 weeks

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• Check for Updates:  Be sure to check your SPAM, Trash, Promotion and other folders where suspected junk email might have been placed for any emails sent from a wresa.org address.  If you are expecting an email and cannot locate it, or have questions, contact driversed@wresa.org 

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•  Course type and Duration:  The Driver Ed courses offered on the WRESA website are all completely virtual. There are a certain number of chapters due at the end of each week, and the students can work around their schedules to complete the work for that week. Students may not work ahead or take the final early. As long as students have a computer with internet access, they will be able to work on their assignments. 

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• Contact Email:  It is very important to provide a Contact Email that you check regularly. The Contact Email will be used to notify you about updates such as when a course is available. In most cases, it is best to use a parent email since we have found that parents usually complete the official registration and pay for the online driver ed course. If the student is entering the information, it is best to enter your parent’s email or a student personal email that you check regularly. It is highly recommended NOT to us a school email, since often school system will block incoming emails.​

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• Cost:  We are committed to providing high-quality driver education to our community. Due to the rising costs of course hosting and professional instruction, we have made the difficult decision to adjust our fees. Effective September 1, 2026, the registration fee for the Online Driver Education course will be $85. All registrations must be paid by credit card at the time of enrollment. If you have any questions about this change or the registration process, please reach out to driversed@wresa.org

• When you receive the email form WRESA to register and pay for a course, note that it costs $85 for the online driver ed course, payable by credit card.  The registration fee is non-refundable and non-transferable; please be sure you can complete the requirements during the times specified for the course prior to registering.

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• Eligibility:  WRESA online driver ed courses are only open to students who live in the WRESA service area, which includes the following counties/school systems: Asheville City, Buncombe, Cherokee Central, Cherokee County, Clay, Graham, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson, Macon, Madison, McDowell, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Swain, Transylvania, and Yancey. Only students attending school in Asheville/Buncombe, Henderson, Madison, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Transylvania, and Yancey are eligible for behind the wheel with Mountain Professionals. All others will set up driving in their counties. 

  ***Note #1:Jackson and Haywood students must use a NC commercial driving school for the 6 hours of driving instruction.  Also, students in Cherokee Central, Cherokee County, Clay, Graham, Macon, and Swain counties will need to use the driver in their counties to complete the 6 hours of driving instruction which might include an additional fee.

  ***Note #2: Attention to students attending a school which is out-of-state, or an online school which is based out-of-state: Mountain Professionals, who handles the driving portion of driver education (in Asheville/Buncombe, Henderson, Madison, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Transylvania, and Yancey), only receives funding from NC for students enrolled in NC schools for the driving portion of driver education. Thus, any student who attends a school out of state, or attends an online school which is based in a state other than NC, will have an additional fee of $360 for the driving portion of driver education. Once the student has completed the $65 online course, and the Restricted instruction permit (covered in course orientation) is received, the student/parent will receive an email with payment options for the Driving Portion. Students/parents may also choose to complete the 6 hours of Driving Instruction through a commercial driving school. The following is a list of some of the commercial driving schools in NC.

  Our online driver ed courses are completely online and take 5 weeks to complete. A student needs a computer/laptop/tablet with internet access to be able to complete the work for a course. Phones do not work well with the platform used for the course. An instructor will help the students navigate through the course and keep the student and parent informed of the student’s weekly progress.

• ***Note #3: Due to the fact that schools receive funding from North Carolina for students based on high school enrollment, not for students below the 9th grade,  the fee for the driving portion will be $270. Alternatively, the student may wait until after July 1 to drive. Students in the 9th grade or higher will take priority in registrations.