Redmond

8151 164th AVE NE, Suite 104
Redmond, WA 98052
(425) 643-0116
customerhelp@driving-school.com

This is located on 164th between Redmond Town Center and Bella Botega Theater. TEEN CLASSES ARE HELD ONLINE VIA ZOOM. Not an office with staff, only a classroom location for Knowledge tests and pick up/drop off for lessons and tests. Our office with staff is located in Kirkland at 10505 NE 38th Place Bldg 9.

Speed up the registration process: pre-apply, the first step to getting your first driver license, instruction permit, or ID card.

Teen Course details (click here):

Provided in our classes: 17 online Zoom sessions, which includes the 30 Hour state curriculum and 4 hours of Driver Awareness Training, 5 hours of driving, and 1 hour student observation.
A parent information session will be held on Zoom. Register here: https://bit.ly/DDSparents
We strongly encourage a parent or guardian ride along on at least one driving lesson.
Minimum course length is 30 days and all classroom and driving requirements must be completed within 4 months. Students are allowed to miss and make up a maximum of 3 classes. Please keep extra-curricular activities and travel plans in mind before registering for a teen course to ensure proper attention can be given toward this course.
A driving permit is required before the first lesson. Students can get their permit no sooner than 10 days before the start date of class.
Driving lessons are held outside of classroom meeting times and will extend beyond the end of the classroom portion of the course.
Upon completion of the course, an electronic certificate will be reported to the Department of Licensing. This process takes up to 3-4 weeks.
Most of our communication is through email. When registering please provide a regularly checked email address for both student and parent.

Special accommodations needed? (click here):

If your student has an IEP/504 plan, ADHD, anxiety, learning disability, or is on the autism spectrum please consider whether an Individualized Driving Plan (IDP) would be right for your student. See more info here: IDP video.

Purchase an IDP consult here if you’re not sure if your student needs the IDP course: https://driving-school.com/teen-individual-driving-plan-consult/

If you already know your student will benefit from the IDP course you can purchase at this link here: https://driving-school.com/locations/individual-driving-plan-package/

Defensive Driving School and Driver License Testing Location

4.7

Based on 336 reviews

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Irina Moiseenko

07:11 15 Nov 24

Learning to drive with Walter A. at Defensive Driving School in Redmond was a great experience. Walter’s patience and expertise made me feel comfortable and confident behind the wheel. He went above and beyond to ensure I understood the skills needed for both the test and everyday driving. I’m grateful for his guidance and highly recommend him to anyone looking to become a safe and confident driver. Thank you, Walter!

Ramya P

01:37 04 Nov 24

I had a good experience learning with Walter at Defensive Driving School in Redmond. Walter is patient and really took the time to help me understand not only how to drive well for my test but also to drive confidently and safely in everyday situations.

Keyi Ding

17:09 31 Oct 24

I took my lessons with both Walter and Josh. They are both great instructors, and I was able to pass my driving tests after 8 lessons. Definitely recommend this driving school!

Sridhar srinivasan

01:41 22 Oct 24

Took the 30 mins practice session followed by the road test. Have to say that the practice session was pretty much a lazy drive-around. Also, they have the incentive to fail the drivers so that the drivers go back for another round of tests by paying another $80 - I felt that they jump on the first chance they get to fail someone (sometimes unreasonably). Worst of all, the instructor did not offer any good, specific feedback at the end of the practice session and the test, except for a boilerplate recital of what we could easily find in the WA drivers manual. Overall, felt that the driving school is more interested in the money than in educating and creating value for their customers. Would not recommend.

Monali Lad

05:26 07 Oct 24

I cleared my skills test a couple of days ago. Mr. Walter from Redmond branch is very professional, patient, knowledgeable and expert. He can highlight your strengths and weaknesses in the first lesson. This is useful in your daily practice. Thank you Walter for all your guidance and support. Highly recommended!!

Andrew Kafchinski

02:31 21 Sep 24

I took 5 of my 6 drives (4 drivers ed drives and the state test) with Walter A. He was very kind and patient and taught me everything I needed to learn to pass the drivers ed course. He was professional and friendly at the same time. Thanks Walter!

Mike bellot

22:16 18 Sep 24

My wife had a very disappointing experience with the Russian lady instructor at this location. She was really rude and unprofessional, with poor communication and unclear directions. It felt like they were more focused on having you fail and come back to pay for another test. I highly recommend avoiding this place and looking for other driving schools in the area that provide better service and professionalism.

PRATIK TIWARI

05:19 04 Sep 24

Walter is an exceptional driving instructor! His patience, expertise, and encouraging approach made learning to drive a seamless and enjoyable experience. He took the time to explain complex concepts in a clear and concise manner, and his constructive feedback helped me improve with each lesson. I passed my test with confidence thanks to his guidance. If you're looking for a reliable and supportive instructor, look no further than Walter. Highly recommended! 5/5 stars

Srinivasa Rao G

07:00 31 Aug 24

Today, I finished my skill test at the Defensive Driving School of Redmond, and it was a great session from beginning to end. Walter Avillanoza, my instructor, was outstanding in all aspects. He was patient, encouraging, and took the time to teach all of the details of safety driving moves, ensuring that I completely understood them. His composed and upbeat manner made the lessons productive and stress-free, which was precisely what I required.The learning experience was well-structured, with a strong emphasis on safety and practical lessons throughout. Walter's individualized approach helped me gain confidence behind the wheel and fully prepared me for the driving test.I am grateful to have got this school for my driving education, and I would strongly suggest Walter and the Defensive Driving School of Redmond to anyone seeking to become a safe and responsible driver. It was a pleasure to learn from such a qualified and focused team. Thank you so much.

Beau Spreine

19:08 19 Aug 24

Engaging driving instructors, Clay is great, Vincent is efficient, Josh is Josh, and the rest of the people who work there make a great environment for learning.

Noah

18:48 17 Aug 24

great driving instructors!

SilverxSword

02:42 03 Aug 24

I've been driving with Walter all summer and prior to meeting him I really struggled with other schools, but DDS and Walter made learning to drive incredibly easy. If you have anxiety, DDS with Walter is for you. He made the entire experience easy to learn with succinct lessons and interesting conversations. Walt was able to make the entire experience easy to learn with his common sense teaching methods.

Charu Sharma

01:03 03 Aug 24

Had an amazing experience with Walter Avillanoza at the Kirkland and Redmond Center. He was patient and polite, explained the rules very well at the start and gently guided through the drive. I took two lessons from him and it greatly improved my driving and I was able to pass the driving test in first attempt. I am an immigrant and was new to left hand driving which is different from my home country and several of my friends had bad experiences at other schools and instructors, but Walter was patient, precise and just a lovely person. Highly recommend!

Murat Deveci

05:14 01 Aug 24

I scheduled the 30 Minute Warm-Up + License Testing - Company Vehicle for Redmond location. Instructor did not show up. They cancelled the lessons over the phone. They said they will refund. That was over a month ago. Still no refund, I emailed today to ask, let's see if I ever receive my money back.

Zayd Rehman

01:06 25 Jul 24

Did a great job teaching, Clay made it fun and engaging (and clay is a winner)!

Mark Onishchenko

19:03 24 Jul 24

vincent and jason are great instructors

Jaysun Reeley

18:06 17 Jul 24

I'm learning new stuff everyday from here good instructors, and classes

Padme Amidala

21:34 15 Jul 24

Currently taking the online classes. Vincent and Clay are hilarious and make it easy to pay attention and feel comfortable driving. Can't wait to get my license!

Meryem M'hamdi

07:30 30 Jun 24

After taking several practice classes with my instructor Walter Avillanoza, I went for my skills test including warm-up at Redmond office. I had a wonderful experience with my instructor. He was very kind and exceptionally calm and helped me become a confident driver thanks to the defensive driving skills he taught me in addition to his positive attitude. During the warmup portion, he made sure I was comfortable and at ease and he also helped me comprehensively practice for the test and I was happy to pass! I highly recommend this school!

Rafael Brewer

01:01 18 Apr 24

Clay sent me. But seriously he is great instructor and if you get him consider yourself lucky. Obviously most instructors are good but I don't have experience with them.

Simon Zhang

15:58 06 Apr 24

I had a good experience,Victor is a good road test officer.

YURI TORR

00:12 05 Apr 24

I took the skill test with a 30-minute warm-up, and it was very much worth it! Anna did a really great job of answering my questions during the warm-up, and she had a very calm voice, which helped ease my nervousness. For those who are coming outside the US, I highly recommend that you take the course with the 30 mins warm up or take up a class with this school for best practices. I would definitely have my wife enroll to this school once she is ready to take up her driving lessons.

Shubhra Agnivesh

21:11 03 Apr 24

Great school! Josh was really patient and helpful throughout.

Caleb Johnson

03:32 27 Mar 24

it was awesome and clay was the goat at instructing. that dude deserves a big raise

N L

23:38 12 Jan 24

I like Redmond, and I go to the city for work daily. So I decided to take my driving test with this office.But learn from my lessons - if you have a car with cameras, and if that’s the only car that you have, and if there is no way for you to turn the cameras off or remove the camera views from your screen like me, don’t come here.Because no matter how hard you turn your head around and how often you look at the mirrors, the guy would assume that you were looking at the cameras and take all scores from you during the test, just because you have a car with newer technologies that you are not supposed to use.I’ve been going through my driving tests twice, I wasn’t doing great the first time so I didn’t pass. Understandable and it was fair, even though the first time he marked down all possible VIS problems that I could possibly have.And the latest test that I did today was still because of the VIS score deductions, even though I did not look at the camera once.I did, however, see the guy from the office looking at my camera view on the screen in the car almost every single time when the cameras are on, and I doubt he was focusing on what I was looking at while driving.So I would recommend getting an old car for your test, or go somewhere else with your newer cars, especially if they have cameras.Edit: don’t believe that they would actually review your case fairly and carefully. They only ‘say’ that you could request appeal, it won’t mean much.I spent a couple of weeks talking back and forth with some guy who was supposed to look at my case and assess further. But it’s been hard to get him talking about the same test that I completed and the same topics/areas that the score was deducted.

Arif

19:06 10 Jan 24

My wife had a warm-up and driving test with instructor Anna. She had a great experience, and I highly recommend Anna specifically. She is a really nice and kind instructor and helped my wife stay calm, as she was a bit nervous.

Keira Bredstrand

02:03 04 Jan 24

I am a student at defensive driving school and have had great experiences with all of the staff, who have been super kind, understanding, supportive, and patient with my family and my questions. The instructor I had on my first drive was super informative and taught me a lot. I also love my teacher Clay who is super sweet and funny. He always finds ways to make class more engaging!

J W

00:49 31 Dec 23

If you come here for testing and you have cameras on your car, turn them off or cover them up! Even if you don’t look at them once, they might distract the instructor, who I guess will just assume you are using them and take off points for that alone, across multiple sections.

Shubhi Gupta

19:36 02 Dec 23

I had a wonderful experience at Defense Driving school U district Seattle. I took a few lessons with Ahmed, he was very sweet and encouraging and taught me instead of criticizing me.My driving test was taken by Jimmy Green. The sweetest man I have met. He made sure I was comfortable during the test. Pointed out my small mistakes during the warmup and literally was so so sweet but at the same time was fair during the test. He in the end explained me my mistakes with their reasonings.Totally recommend the driving school and big shout out to Jimmy and Ahmed 🙂

Wil Salzman

16:50 14 Oct 23

My instructor Vincent was great he was very clear, understanding of people questions and always made sure to answer. The meeting advisor or tech advisor, Clay was very helpful always answered questions very clearly and quickly. Definitely a really good driving school option. The things they teach are very helpful

Leane Donovan

22:14 21 Aug 23

We have had two kids attend the North Everett location. Glen was our instructor and was beyond helpful and supportive. His knowledge that he has shared with us has been beyond our expectations. I am only let down that our 3rd child will not be able to have his time and knowledge. Thanks Glen! You are the best. What a positive experience.

A Wilson

22:06 29 Nov 22

I am about to take my finals with the Oak harbor Defensive drive school. It has been a great experience and Stanley is the BEST. I had a lot of fun these four weeks and made some new friends.1000/10.

Al Varady

18:03 25 Sep 22

I took the written and road tests with them. Marty was great during the road test. He was very calm and even when I lost some points, I didn't hear it in his voice, which allowed me to keep going and not get more nervous. Thanks!

Duong Thach

00:32 20 Sep 22

I got out of and passed the driving test today - alive, of course.I am from Vietnam, just moved over to the U.S and have never driven a car before. But Josh Johnston (my instructor) was super helpful and gave me confidence behind the wheel. When he gave me the driving lessons, he explained things clearly and in an easy way to understand. He didn’t touch the steering wheel, didn’t crush the brake (and didn’t scream) when I’m driving . He didn’t make me feel like I’m an idiot making mistakes. He explained why I didn’t do it correctly and asked me to do it again to correct. He told me: “I’m not worrying. If I worry, we’re in trouble; but I’m not worrying, you’re doing just fine. Keep doing what you’re doing and you’ll be ok!”.Recommended Defensive Driving School (especially instructor Josh).Good luck everyone and drive safe!

Panda Lover

23:18 24 Jun 22

The instructors were very nice and helpful in learning how to drive, and even though the classes were online, the class didn't feel boring, you are always learning something new! Definitely recommend!

Basilin Benson

17:59 09 Jun 22

I had a 30 min lesson and Skill test with Tyson Williams today and it was great. Tyson is a really good teacher and is very calm, patient and clear with his instructions. Would highly recommend taking driving lessons here.

Pranita Iyer

04:23 15 Feb 22

Defensive driving is a great school and Anna was a great teacher. I moved from out of town and already had 10 years of driving experience. I took a 1-hr session and did all the tests with defensive driving. Anna was very professional and very calm and taught so well! She taught me so many useful driving skills along with helping me understand the DOL licensing process. I highly recommend defensive driving in Redmond!

Abhimanyu Dutta

20:04 07 Dec 21

I went for my driving test today. I took the 30 min warm up session followed by the driving test. Anna was my instructor. She was very helpful and very clear in instructing me the details of the test. I did not understand some of the usual slangs like backing around the corner etc.. but she was patient and explained me everything in a clam manner. I would recommend this place to all first time drivers.

Alfred Kids

00:46 02 Dec 21

The driving course was great, though classes were chaotic, I enjoyed the experience. My favorite part were the helpers that did role call because they somehow knew your name everytime you went to class. The only eh part of the class was the confusion on whether you needed to get 50 or 10 hours.You needed ten hours.

sowmya supreeth

07:00 10 Nov 21

I would highly recommend defensive driving school for everyone. All instructors are really helpful (Especially Anna).Let me summarize my experience. When I started taking classes I was a new driver, hardly have driven anywhere. I took around 10 classes and within those classes the instructor taught me various driving skills (parallel parking, backing round corner, pull over and many more). Even if I ask the same questions multiple times, they explained very well and stayed calm. These skills made be very confident in driving. Now I drive on my own everywhere.Special thanks to Anna (my instructor) for teaching me.

Elizabeth Allum

04:29 11 Sep 21

I would highly recommend this place. I was a very nervous learner, and after my lessons here I am now a qualified, confident, and safe driver! My instructor was Anna, and I really enjoyed my lessons with her. She was professional, knowledgeable, calm, patient, clear and friendly. She managed to find the perfect balance between helping to build my confidence, whilst at the same time helping me recognize and work through my areas of weakness. I took the knowledge test and skills test with DDS, and both experiences were great. I passed both on my first attempt. I also found the customer support team extremely helpful. I emailed them with a lot of questions, and they always responded to me in a swift, helpful and friendly manner. Overall, I'm super happy I chose DDS as my driving school!

Gloria Xiaolu Zhang

18:27 26 Aug 21

I had good experience with Herton. She's been teaching driving for 40 years. In addition to improving my driving skills, she also taught me valuable lessons she's learned or mistakes she's seen her students make.

Colette Moss

19:58 20 Aug 21

Bit of a bottleneck area trying to get out of Trader Joe's and then over to Def Driving. Otherwise, good location, parking available.

NiceNelly

00:45 04 Aug 21

Took a driving skills test. The receptionist and the instructor/judge were both very kind.

Lingwai Lam

22:28 26 Jul 21

Signed up for 5 1 hour lessons. The staffs are very knowledgeable and friendly. Highly recommended!

Mani Awasthi

20:12 27 Apr 21

Anna is easily the best in the business! I took my driving lessons from her and was able to pass the skill test with a lot of ease and confidence. She is very patient with her students and maintains her composure at all times. Even when you do a mistake, she doesn't panic and doesn't let it affect the student's confidence either. I will highly recommend her as a driving instructor for students with any level of expertise (from beginner to advanced).

S Andersen

18:03 26 Apr 21

As others have said, Anna is an incredible instructor. She is both knowledgeable and reassuring, constantly offering feedback throughout a drive. When I explained I needed refresher lessons to feel comfortable behind the wheel after several years of infrequent driving, she created a plan to meet my goals over the few sessions we had together.

Rahul Kumar

21:16 22 Mar 21

Anna is an excellent Driving Instructor. Her methods are simple and easy to follow. She provides full detail analysis of your driving and suggests improvements based on that. Highly Recommend ||

Vivek Agarwal

18:13 23 Feb 21

Anna is a five star trainer. She is very calm and composed so accepts your mistake as your opportunity to learn and she keeps guiding you throughout training on the wheel. Her way of teaching is amazing! The best part is that you don't feel intimidated in actual driving test while she still performs her responsibility with full professionalism. Thank you Anna for warm-up session and reviewing my driving test. You are the best!

Andrew Spray

18:33 27 Jan 21

Amazing driving teacher. Very patient and compassionate, but also has a well-developed system for teaching. Lots of positive encouragement to go alongside constructive criticism. Focuses on developing good, safe habits for new drivers.

Jayser Mendez

22:21 11 Nov 20

Anna is the best instructor ever! After 5 classes, I was able to pass my road test!!! The way they explain is excellent and they provide very good tips and techniques to remember certain things on the road. I recommend this place without hesitation!!!

Ajay Sainy

02:47 29 Oct 20

Anna is a great instructor! She is kind, patient, encouraging & supportive. Each class was well planned in advance. Anna maintained a checklist and gave me constructive feedback during & after each driving session. For anyone who's new to driving in the US, I highly recommend practicing with Defensive Driving.

Ana Stakun

22:11 28 Oct 20

I had an amazing experience while learning to drive with instructor Anna at Redmond location. Anna was knowledgable and patient. She gave clear explanations about various road rules and driving scenarios. I received a lot of useful tips which helped me feel more confident about my driving. During each class I felt comfortable asking all the questions that I would come up with. Anna was always calm and friendly. I enjoyed every class that I took. When I went to take the test I was confident and relaxed.

Deepak Mohan (Robo)

19:10 26 Oct 20

Really good experience and Anna is a great teacher. Took five 90 min classes at this school. It has been 3 years since I last drove and completely new to left hand drive. Was nervous in my first class and made a lot of mistakes but Anna was really patient and helped me recover from the mistakes. Each class was tailored to go over from the basics and cover all the essentials, the different maneuvers, lane changes, city driving and freeway driving. Highly recommend taking a class here before giving skill test.

Marleny Trevino

00:21 24 Feb 20

They were super nice and patient with me. I originally signed up for automatic driving classes, changed my mind to do stick shift, and then went back to automatic. I wasn’t charged extra for all these changes and they were really understanding.The instructors, Anna and Stan are super nice too and made a nervous wreck like me feel at ease.If you will be have someone to practice driving with, I recommend the 5 90 min lessons.They are a good price and were enough to go over everything I needed to learn to drive.I also took the test with them and it was super easy!

Alexandra Shapira

22:39 09 Dec 19

I already had a driving license from abroad when I moved to Redmond and needed to get Washington license. I took one hour lesson and both knowledge and practice tests in Defensive Driving School. Anna is very patient instructor who welcomes any kind of questions concerning driving and traffic rules and answers them clearly. She gave me some useful remarks that helped me to pass my test from the first try.Having had license tests in two other countries except for the US, I want to emphasize particularly positive, encouraging and calm atmosphere during the practice test.

Rumbomaker .

01:40 05 Dec 19

Thank you DDS, Very cool!Anna good teacher, very fun. 911 Driving school is fake news.

diksha mehta

18:53 22 Nov 19

My experience with the place was pretty seamless. I was done with my lesson and test within an hour and a half. Anna was my instructor during the lesson as well as the scorer for the test. During the lesson, I asked Anna to help me practice parallel parking and backing into the driveway and she gave me few simple thumb rules. She also explained the scoring scheme well. She was patient and positive during the driving lesson. I Would highly recommend her to all.

Phil Shapira

22:00 21 Nov 19

Overall - I'm happy I chose this school, my experience is quite positive and I recommend this school.I already had a driver experience and license, issued by another country, so I just needed to pass tests to get WA license.Although I'm quite experienced driver, I decided to take one lesson to understand what to expect from the test. Anna is awesome instructor, we tried all maneuvers, she gave some very useful advice and explained what to expect on the test. She didn't try to sell me more lessons and I passed the test from the first try. So I'm very happy with the school

Snapyrock .

00:54 06 Nov 19

The Stan is a very good teacher. He definitely makes it fun, and always gives a good amount of information. I highly recommend it

Saketh Dhulipalla

23:55 01 Oct 19

Anna is a great instructor! I’m having a great time here. She is also really good for driving lessons too!

Manju Vipin

20:44 30 Aug 19

Anna is extremely patient, calm and brings in positive energy during the driving lessons. She has a passion for teaching and I am glad I decided to bring my daughter here . I Would highly recommend her to all.

Mackenzie Shannon

19:24 28 Aug 19

Anna is a great instructor. She’s very calm, kind and respectful! I would recommend people to this location.

Elizabeth Brue

04:11 21 Aug 19

The classes teach knowledge that some or most drivers forgot about or never knew about driving. Teens are learning specific information and techniques on driving so when they become experienced drivers they can be safe role models for others on the road.

Alejandra Whitney

19:57 19 Aug 19

We have a good driving instructor. Learning a lot. Instructor is a little politically incorrect, but they try. Made class entertaining. Would recommend.

Graciela Lagraba

19:08 19 Aug 19

Defensive driving is amazing to learn how to safely drive around. There were so many situations introduced that I never would have thought of. Anna is so sweet and makes the class fun!

Kaitlin McGarvey

05:23 24 Jul 19

Heaton was an absolute delight to have in the car with me when I renewed my driving license. It has been two years since I had driven in the US, but she was patient, kind, and calm as she directed me during the driving test. I was never stressed or anxious with her. Her feedback at the end of the test was detailed, constructive, and helpful. Overall, I would highly recommend taking your test through Defensive Driving School in Bellevue. It was easy to make an appointment with them, all communication was clear, the emails were helpful, and on the day of the test the staff were incredibly friendly, which calms any nerves. Thanks for your help!

Summer DeBoom

19:09 09 Jul 19

I had a lot of fun at this school; even if it was during the summer. We played game and watched a lot of videos that made us gasp. 😁Thank you Anna for allowing me to have fun and make friends at Defensive Driving School.

Alexa Wirth

00:26 01 Jun 18

Anna is an amazing teacher we never leave her class without learning something new, playing games, having competitions and laughing.

Ioana Dulan

00:21 01 Jun 18

Anna is a great instructor who makes the class very fun while still teaching all the information well. She’s very nice and always plays informative games with the class. We tried doing quizzing in pairs and it worked really well. Great teacher (deserves a raise)

00:19 01 Jun 18

The education is very thorough and they make sure no student gets left behind. Anna is a great instructor!

Rodrigo Blaustein

04:51 03 May 18

Anna is a fantastic teacher. She is very patient, relaxed and friendly, which made the driving lesson an exiting and enjoyable experience as opposed to stressful for a new driver. I would definitely recommend Defensive driving school for anybody learning to drive for the first time or trying to improve theirs skill.

*ANA*

00:18 29 Mar 18

ANNA IS AN AMAZING TEACHER!!! She teaches us everything we need to know. If you want to be a safe driver, come here! You will not regret it! ❤️❤️❤️

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If you have an IEP/504 plan click here before purchasing the course.

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