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    7 min read 6 stepsMay 8, 2026Verified May 2026

    How to Take an AARP Smart Driver Course Online

    Step-by-step walkthrough for adults 50+ on signing up for, completing, and saving on insurance with the AARP Smart Driver online refresher.

    At a Glance

    Category
    Tips & Tricks
    Difficulty
    Beginner
    Read Time
    7 min read
    Steps
    6
    Topics covered
    driving
    AARP
    seniors
    safety
    insurance
    refresher
    online course
    50+

    In this guide (6 steps):

    1. 1.Open the Official AARP Driver Safety Site
    2. 2.Create an Account and Pick Your State
    3. 3.Pay for the Course and Start Chapter One
    4. 4.Work Through the Eight Chapters at Your Own Pace
    5. 5.Pass the Final Quiz and Print Your Certificate
    6. 6.Send the Certificate to Your Insurance Company
    1

    Open the Official AARP Driver Safety Site

    ~42s
    Open a web browser and go directly to aarpdriversafety.org. Do not type the address into a search engine and click the first result, because some ad listings link to lookalike sites that charge more than the real course. The official site has a green padlock in the address bar and the URL ends in .org, not .com or .net. On the home page, look for the orange button that says Take the Online Course. Click it. You can browse the page without an account. But you will need to register an account before you can pay.

    Warning

    If a page asks for your Social Security number, banking login, or Medicare card before letting you start the course, close the tab. The real AARP course never asks for any of those details.

    2

    Create an Account and Pick Your State

    ~48s
    Click Sign Up if you are new, or Log In if you already have an AARP account from a magazine subscription or other AARP service. Enter your name, email address, a password with at least eight characters, and your home zip code. The system uses your zip code to pick the right state version of the course, because state laws and insurance discount rules vary. Confirm the state is correct before you continue. If you split time between two states, pick the state where your car is registered and where your insurance policy is held. After registering, check your email inbox for a verification message and click the link inside to confirm the account.

    Quick Tip

    Have your AARP membership number nearby before you start. The number is printed on your membership card and on the back of every AARP magazine. Entering the number during checkout drops the price by about seven dollars.

    3

    Pay for the Course and Start Chapter One

    ~49s
    On the payment page, type your member number into the AARP Member box if you have one. The discount applies right away and the total at the bottom of the screen updates. Enter your credit or debit card. The course charge is a one-time fee, not a subscription, and the company does not save your card for future charges. After payment, the system emails you a receipt and unlocks Chapter One. The first chapter is an introduction that explains how the course works, how to take notes, and how the quizzes are graded. Watch the short welcome video, read the printed text on the side of the screen, and take the chapter one quiz to make sure your computer is working with the site.

    Quick Tip

    Print or save the email receipt. Some insurance companies want to see proof of purchase along with your finish certificate before they apply the discount to your policy.

    4

    Work Through the Eight Chapters at Your Own Pace

    ~51s
    The course has eight chapters in total. They cover age-related changes in vision and hearing, medication effects on driving, intersections and turns, highways and merging, sharing the road with trucks and bicycles, vehicle safety features such as anti-lock brakes and lane keep assist, special weather and night driving, and a final review. Each chapter takes about 40 to 50 minutes. The site saves your progress automatically every few seconds. You can close the browser at any time and the next time you log in, the system returns you to the same page. Most older adults finish the whole course in two or three sittings spread across a week. Some prefer to do one chapter per day.

    Warning

    Do not try to skip ahead by clicking the chapter buttons at the top of the page. The system locks each chapter until you finish the one before it. Clicking ahead resets your spot to the start of the chapter you were on.

    5

    Pass the Final Quiz and Print Your Certificate

    ~48s
    After the last chapter, you take a 25-question final quiz. The questions are pulled from earlier chapters. You can retake the quiz as many times as needed, and the passing score is 80 percent in most states. Once you pass, the site shows your finish certificate on screen. The certificate has your name, the course title, the date you finished, the state, and a verification code. Click the Print button to send it to your printer, or click Save as PDF to keep an electronic copy. The site also emails the certificate to the email address on your account. Save both the paper and the PDF, because some insurance companies prefer one format over the other.

    Quick Tip

    Make two paper copies of the certificate. Keep one in your wallet or car glove box and the other in a folder at home with your insurance papers. The certificate stays valid for three years.

    6

    Send the Certificate to Your Insurance Company

    ~50s
    Open the email or phone app and contact your auto insurance company. The fastest path for most insurers is to log in to the company website or app, find the Documents section, and upload the PDF certificate there. If your insurer does not have an upload portal, call the customer service number on the back of your insurance card and ask where to send the proof of completion. Some companies want a fax, some want a mail-in copy, and some accept an emailed PDF. After they receive the certificate, the discount usually appears on your next renewal or as a small credit on your current policy. Save the confirmation email or letter that says the discount has been applied.

    Warning

    Six states do not require insurers to offer a refresher discount. Those states are Alaska, Massachusetts, New Mexico, Vermont, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. Drivers in those states still benefit from the safety lessons, but should not expect an automatic insurance reduction.

    You Did It!

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    The AARP Smart Driver course is the longest-running refresher class for drivers 50 and older in the United States. It has been around in some form since 1979, when it was called 55 Alive, and the modern online version takes about six hours to finish. You do not need to be an AARP member to take it, though members pay less. The course covers how vision, hearing, reaction time, and medication side effects change with age, along with the rules of the road for newer driver-assist features such as blind spot warning and automatic braking. There is no road test at the end, only a short quiz after each chapter.

    The biggest reason most older drivers sign up is the insurance discount. In 36 states and the District of Columbia, finishing an approved refresher course earns you a multi-year discount on your auto insurance premium. The exact savings depend on your insurer and state, but most drivers see a 5 to 15 percent reduction on the collision and liability portions of their policy. Across three years, that often adds up to more than the cost of the course itself. The 2026 price is around 30 dollars for non-members and around 23 dollars for AARP members, with frequent sales that drop the cost lower.

    The online format works well for adults who would rather learn at home than sit in a classroom. You can pause the course at any time, walk away for an hour or a week, and pick up where you left off. You can also rewind a section if you missed something or want to hear it again. Each chapter has a short narrator video, written text on the side, and a 5 to 10 question quiz. The quizzes are open book and you can retake them as many times as you need to pass.

    This guide walks through registering for an account, picking the right state, paying for the course, working through the eight chapters, printing your certificate, and sending the certificate to your insurance company. Plan to spread the course across two or three sittings of about two hours each. You will need a working email address, a computer or tablet with a recent browser, and a credit or debit card for the registration fee.

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    driving
    AARP
    seniors
    safety
    insurance
    refresher
    online course
    50+

    Official Resources

    How-To GeekAARP Technology TipsTom's Guide — Tips

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