Online Level 3 is real training, and it is also only part of the course. Both of those things are true, and a school that tells you only the first half is setting you up for a surprise later. Here is what the online portion covers, how the exam works, and exactly where the online portion stops.

What Part 1 covers

The online portion is the classroom half of Level 3. It covers three subject areas and ends with a written examination.

• Law. The legal framework a commissioned officer works inside, including what your authority is and where it ends.
• Use of force. The decision-making side of carrying a firearm on duty. This is the material you will be judged against if you ever have to justify an action.
• Duties. What a commissioned security officer is responsible for on post.
• Written exam. The examination covering the above.

You work through it at your own pace. That is the actual benefit of online delivery for most students: you are not burning shifts or driving to sit in a classroom on someone else’s schedule. Log in when your day allows, work a section, come back to it.

The exam and the 75% minimum

The passing grade is set by rule. Under 37 TAC §35.144(c), the minimum passing grade on a Level III or Level IV school examination is 75%. That is a floor the school does not set and cannot move.

Self-paced delivery is not the same as a low-effort course. The use of force material in particular rewards reading it properly the first time rather than clicking through to get to the questions. Slow down on that section.

Where the material comes from

The Level 3 course content is prepared by and obtained from DPS. The school delivers it; the school does not write it. So the substance of a legitimate online Level 3 course is the same wherever you take it. What varies is the delivery, the support, and whether the school is approved at all.

On approval, Level 3 is stricter than Level 2. Level 3 may only be taught by a DPS-approved school using a DPS-approved instructor. There is no in-house designee route. Level 2 does allow a licensee’s own designee to teach it, which is why some officers have a Level 2 certificate signed off inside their company and then assume Level 3 works the same way. It does not. If you still need Level 2, take the online Level 2 class; it is the unarmed, entry-level course under §35.141(a)(1) and contains no firearms training.

What online cannot do

The online portion cannot satisfy the firearms proficiency requirement. There is no version of this where you demonstrate proficiency with a handgun through a browser. Defensive tactics, firearms handling, and the firearms proficiency exam are the in-person Part 2, done with an instructor present.

The course of fire is defined by rule. §35.145 allows the DPS Primary Issued Handgun Qualification Course or the DPS Approved LTC Course, and §35.146 provides a shotgun course of fire. Part 2 is booked on its own schedule, separate from the online portion. Finishing Part 1 does not place you on a range date, so if you have a deadline from an employer, get the in-person day on the calendar early.

Any school implying you can complete a Texas commission entirely online is describing something that does not exist.

Your certificate

Under §35.147, the school issues the original certificate within seven days of qualifying, and retains records for twenty-four months. The Level 3 certificate is PSP 30.

Keep it. You will want it for your application, and under §35.81(a) copies of both the Level 2 and the Level 3 certificates go on the commission application. Two certificates, one application.

If you are already commissioned

An initial Level 3 course and renewal training are not the same product. Under §35.161(g), commissioned security officers and personal protection officers owe 6 hours of continuing education, satisfied by completing the renewal portions of the Level III or IV training course, as applicable, and a commissioned officer submits a firearms proficiency certificate with the renewal application. If that is your situation, you want the armed security renewal course rather than this one.

Getting started

Start Part 1 online, finish the written exam, and book your in-person day. You can see the full course lineup on the class page, and common questions about sequencing and paperwork are answered in the FAQs. If something about your situation is unusual, ask us before you enrol rather than after.