License Requirements

NASA COMPETITION LICENSE

These are the minimum eligibility requirements for a NASA Competition License:

Complete NASA’s HPDE system, from HPDE1 through HPDE4, obtain a sign off from the HPDE4 Series Leader, then register for NASA SoCal’s Competition Licensing school. Many people ask how long this takes and the answer is always the same, “it depends on you”. How often you participate with NASA and how quickly you progress learning new driving skills determines how long this will take. Regardless, you are continually having fun, learning and improving your driving skills throughout your journey.

NON NASA COMPETITION LICENSING SCHOOLS:
If you have documented proof of attending and successfully completing a competition school outside NASA (Skip Barber, BMW Performance School, Bertil Roos, etc.), you can apply for a NASA provisional competition license.

NASA COMPETITION LICENSING SCHOOLS:
If you have documented proof of attending and successfully completing a NASA competition school, you can apply for a NASA provisional competition license.

NASA will not typically grant a NASA competition license if the only experience you have is the competition school.

We will accept certificates of successful completion from racing schools on a case-by-case basis.

In some cases, applicants have on-track driving experience beyond their school of choice and may be granted a competition license.

AND/OR

You must have a current race license with another major racing organization.

AND/OR

You must be able to provide documented proof of equivalent real world, physical on-track racing experience.

SIMs are not an acceptable substitute for actual on-track experience.

Additionally, depending on your track driving experience, we may ask to evaluate you on track and/or speak to you on the phone before approving your competition license.

NASA TIME TRIAL LICENSE

The minimum requirement for a NASA Time Trial license is a verifiable driver history in an open-passing environment, such as:

Successful completion of NASA’s HPDE system from HPDE1 thru HPDE 4 or equivalent experience; or,

A valid NASA Competition or Provisional License; or,

A valid competition or TT license with another organization.

If you are new to NASA and have sufficient experience with another major racing organization, we may allow you to go directly into Time Trial competition.

When you apply for your TT license, make sure you include a resume of your competition experience and any other competition licenses you hold.

For additional information about Time Trial, contact:

Stu Clott, Time Trial Series Leader, at [email protected].