How to get a driver's license in Illinois

Nobody leaves the counter with a license

The Secretary of State's driver's license page is blunt about it: as of July 2016, for any card type — new, renewal, duplicate or corrected — you will not receive your permanent card at the end of your DMV visit. What you get instead is a Temporary Driver's License on secure paper. It is valid for 90 days, it carries a photo and the basic information printed on the permanent card, it serves as your driving credential and as proof of identity, and it can be duplicated at a DMV for the appropriate fee if you lose it. You may hold only one of these temporary credentials at a time.

Your information then travels to a centralized secure facility in Illinois for fraud checks, and the permanent card is printed there and mailed to the address on file, usually within 15 business days. The handbook warns that the post office will not deliver the card if there is a forwarding order or any type of hold-on-mail service for the address you gave, which is why Illinois law gives you 10 days to report an address change and why the office keeps repeating that the address has to be right. If 15 business days pass with nothing in the mailbox, you can check your card's mailing status online or call 217-782-7044.

One practical detail saves a lot of airport anxiety. For air travel the DMV employee hands your old license or ID back to you instead of keeping it, and the page reports that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security says it will accept the temporary credential in conjunction with the expired card to board an aircraft until the permanent one arrives in the mail. Carry both, not one.

Three doors into an instruction permit, and your age picks one

The Secretary of State's instruction permit page sets the ordinary route: if you are 15 to 17 you must be enrolled in an approved driver education course, or be within 30 days of active participation in one, and you must pay the fee, pass the vision screening and pass the written exam for the classification you want. The application needs a certified instructor's signature to be processed at all, and depending on whether your course runs through a high school or a commercial driver training school, either you or your instructor submits it. From age 17 years and 3 months you may apply for the permit without taking a driver education course.

There is a third door, and it is the one that gets left out of short summaries because it lives in the statute rather than on the agency's permit page. Section 6-103 of the Illinois Vehicle Code lets the Secretary issue an instruction permit to a child who is at least 15 years and 3 months of age, is enrolled in school, meets the educational requirements of the Driver Education Act, and has passed the examinations the Secretary may prescribe. All four conditions have to hold together — this is not a way around driver education so much as a separate statutory path that runs through the school.

How long the permit lasts depends on your age when it is issued. An applicant under 18 gets a permit valid for two years that must be held at least nine months before a driver's license; an applicant 18 and older gets one valid for one year. While you hold it you may drive with your adult instructor during the behind-the-wheel portion of the course, and you may practice with an adult who is at least 21, holds a license for the type of vehicle you are driving, and has at least one year of driving experience. That supervisor sits in the front passenger seat next to you.

What the written exam asks, and what the state never prints

The Rules of the Road describes the basic written exam by task rather than by score: identify traffic signs by shape, color or symbol; identify signals and pavement markings; and answer multiple-choice and true-or-false items on traffic laws, safety rules, crash prevention and vehicle equipment. Some of what you will be asked is written into statute. Section 6-109 of the Vehicle Code directs the Secretary to keep in the question pool at least one item on the Pedestrians with Disabilities Safety Act, items on driving safely around bicycles of which one may cover the Dutch Reach, and at least one item on a driver's duties when approaching a stationary emergency vehicle.

What the state does not print is how long the exam is or what score clears it. Nothing in the cached Rules of the Road extract, and nothing on the Secretary of State pages fetched for this guide, gives an exam length or a pass mark. So treat the 35 questions this site practices against, and the 28 of 35 it treats as passing, as our own working model for building practice sets — not as figures Springfield published. Any percentage you see attached to them is arithmetic we did, not a threshold the agency announced.

Two rules around the exam are worth knowing before you sit down. The handbook allows three attempts to pass each exam within one year of the date you paid your application fee. And it treats cheating harshly. Examiners warn applicants first for behavior that could be considered suspicious, and the handbook's examples — explicitly not an exhaustive list — are an open book within your field of vision, looking around, and checking a cellphone or other wireless device. Anyone found cheating fails and is barred from retaking the exam for 30 days, and taking any part of a driver's license exam for another person is a criminal offense carrying a fine and a mandatory minimum of seven days in jail.

Language is handled in the statute rather than by local practice. Section 6-109 says all portions of the written and verbal examinations may be given in Spanish, and at the Secretary's discretion in any other language as well as in English, at the request of the person being examined — with the exception of English wording that appears on facsimiles of road signs. The same section also lets the Secretary adopt rules on the use of foreign language interpreters during the application and examination process.

The road test is a named list of maneuvers

Illinois publishes what the driving exam scores, and it is specific enough to rehearse. You check the vehicle controls, including the parking brake and mirrors, and make every adjustment to seats, safety belts, mirrors and other equipment before the car moves. You back the vehicle roughly 50 feet slowly, straight and smoothly, turning your head to the right to watch the rear. You perform a turnabout using an alley on the left side of the street, signaling left before turning in, backing out, and staying on your side of the street. You park uphill and start uphill, park downhill and start downhill. And you are graded throughout on obeying signs, control devices, right of way and lane markings, and on using turn signals properly.

The car you bring has conditions of its own. It must be properly licensed and carry the required equipment, sit in the same weight class stated on your license application, be properly insured with proof handed over at the time of the exam, and display valid front and rear Illinois plates with a valid registration sticker — or, if it is registered outside Illinois, meet that state's registration requirements. Someone with a valid license or permit has to drive it to the facility. Only the examiner rides with you; children and pets are not allowed in the vehicle and cannot be left unattended in the facility during the test, so bring someone to care for them. You and the examiner both wear safety belts, and any traffic violation or dangerous action during the test is an automatic fail.

First-time adults: 18 to 20 owe a course, 21 and up get advice

If you are 18, 19 or 20 and have neither been licensed before nor completed an approved driver education program, Illinois requires a six-hour Adult Driver Education Course before it will issue a license. Only providers the Secretary of State certifies may teach it; a course from an uncertified provider will not be accepted. Depending on how the provider is certified, the course may be delivered in a classroom or online.

The syllabus is not left to the provider. Section 6-107.5 of the Vehicle Code sets the course at a minimum of six hours and lists what it must cover: traffic laws; highway signs, signals and markings that regulate, warn or direct traffic; the issues commonly behind crashes, naming poor decision-making, risk taking, impaired driving, distraction, speed, failure to use a safety belt, driving at night, failure to yield the right of way, texting, wireless device use, and alcohol and drug awareness; and instruction on law enforcement procedures during traffic stops, including what a motorist should do and how to interact with officers. The same section says the curriculum shall not require the operation of a motor vehicle — this is a classroom requirement, not behind-the-wheel training.

At 21 and older the tone changes from requirement to recommendation. The handbook says only that if the applicant is 21 or older and driving for the first time, enrollment in a driving school for adults is suggested before applying. Suggested, not mandated — but you still face the same vision screening, written exam and driving exam as everyone else applying for a first license.

The fee depends on how old you are

Illinois does not charge one price for a driver's license. The Secretary of State's fee table lists the basic license at $30, then prices it by age band: $5 for a license or renewal at ages 18 through 20, $30 at 21 through 68, $5 at 69 through 80, $2 at 81 through 86, and free at 87 and older. An original Class D instruction permit is $20 and a renewal permit is $10. A corrected or duplicate license or permit is $5, and the table's age discounts on that line are written for corrected cards specifically: $2 at ages 81 through 86 and free at 87 and older.

Two lines on that table quietly save money. The permit row carries a footnote saying that if you receive your license before your instruction permit expires, you may not need to pay an additional fee — which turns the nine-month permit hold into a reason to finish on schedule rather than let the permit lapse. And a duplicate is free, with no police report required, for anyone age 60 and above whose license was lost or stolen, while an applicant under 60 needs a police report stating the card was stolen to get the replacement at no cost. On motorcycles the table lists $10 for a first-time or upgrade M or L classification and $5 to renew one, and appends a note that the applicant pays an additional $5 fee to add or renew an M or L classification on top of the regular driver's license fee. The handbook says fee amounts are subject to legislative change, so confirm the figure for your situation on that fee page before you go.

Renewal, and the birthdays that change the rules

A renewal letter should reach the address on your driving record 60 to 90 days before your license expires, carrying the PIN or Renewal Authorization Number you need to renew online and telling you which documents and tests apply. The handbook is careful to add that the letter is a courtesy, not a trigger: renewing before expiration is the driver's responsibility whether or not the notice arrives, and you may not get one at all if you never reported a name or address change. You can renew up to one year before a four-year or two-year license expires, and up to six months before a one-year license expires.

Age reshapes both the term and the testing. Section 6-115 of the Vehicle Code sets the ordinary term at four years, gives a license issued under 21 an expiration three months after the 21st birthday, sets a two-year term for licensees aged 81 through 86 and a 12-month term at 87 and older — with a rider on both, and on the ordinary four-year term, letting the Secretary designate a later expiration by rule, up to another 12 months; the Secretary's own 2026 Rules of the Road prints the same two bands, so the statute and the handbook agree — it is one bullet on the Secretary's renewal-timelines page, which summarizes ages 21 through 86 as a flat four years, that stands apart. Read your renewal notice for the term you actually got. On testing, Section 6-109 as amended by Public Act 104-169 requires every applicant for renewal who is 79 or older to renew in person, and requires an actual demonstration of driving ability from every renewal applicant who is 87 or older, and from any applicant 75 or older who holds a commercial driver's license. The General Assembly's site also carries a competing text of that same subsection, from Public Act 104-260, that instead sets a flat 75-and-older road-test rule with no in-person clause; the Secretary of State's own pages describe the 87-and-older version, so that is the one this guide follows. The Secretary of State's page dates that 87-and-older driving exam and annual renewal to July 1, 2026.

Two more renewal conditions catch people. A vision screening is required for every driver renewing at a facility, and a written exam is required every eight years if you have traffic convictions on your record; a crash on your record may pull you into the written exam, the road exam, or both. If your license has been expired for more than a year, Section 6-109 puts you back in the examined-applicant category rather than the routine-renewal one. And renewing online is off the table if you want a REAL ID, need a written or road test, need to submit an updated medical or vision report, or want to add a PO Box to your address — each of those sends you to a DMV. Looking further out, Section 6-115 directs the Secretary to offer qualified applicants an optional eight-year license beginning no later than July 1, 2027, with proposed rules due to the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules by January 1, 2027.

Vision, medical duties, and a new family-reporting channel

Every applicant either takes the vision screening at a DMV or files a Vision Specialist Report completed by a licensed optometrist, ophthalmologist or physician; the handbook adds that the report has to be dated within six months of the facility visit. The standard is 20/40 acuity with or without corrective lenses, and at least 140 degrees of peripheral vision for an unrestricted license, also measured with or without correction. Acuity between 20/41 and 20/70 limits you to daylight driving only. If you need glasses or contact lenses to meet the standard, that restriction is noted on your license. Telescopic lens wearers face a separate rule set and additional testing.

Medical reporting is a duty with conditions attached, not a blanket one. The Secretary of State's medical and vision page says you must file a Medical Report Form completed by your physician if you have any medical or mental condition that may result in a loss of consciousness or any loss of ability to drive safely, or if you take any medication that may impair your driving. If either applies, you resubmit the form at each renewal, and you must notify the office within 10 days of becoming aware of the condition — failure to do so may lead to cancellation of your license and driving privileges. When the condition ends, a final report from your physician saying so is what removes you from the follow-up program.

There is also a newer channel worth knowing about. The same page describes the Road Safety and Fairness Act, effective July 1, 2026, which lets immediate family members report concerns when they believe a relative's medical condition, cognitive decline, vision impairment or driving behavior may be affecting their ability to drive safely. The page is explicit that a report does not automatically affect anyone's driving privileges and that every report is independently reviewed by the Secretary of State's office. Outside that channel, the office is only authorized to investigate potential medical conditions when a licensed physician, a member of law enforcement or a member of the judicial system reports them.

Moving in, and the credentials that are not a standard license

If you have permanently moved to Illinois from another state or country holding a valid non-Illinois license, the handbook gives you 90 days or the expiration of that license, whichever comes first, to get an Illinois one. Visitors and people driving through keep using their home credential, and an out-of-state student attending an Illinois college or university may drive on a home-state license, as may that student's spouse and children. When you do apply, you surrender all valid out-of-state licenses, state ID cards, instruction permits and commercial licenses, and you bring one item from each of Groups A, B, C and D on the acceptable-identification list. One document can satisfy more than one group. The Secretary of State's FAQ adds a detail that trips up new arrivals: Illinois does not recognize the international driver's license.

Not every Illinois driving credential is the standard Class D card. The Temporary Visitor Driver's License is where the website and the handbook disagree, and the handbook is the newer of the two. The Secretary of State's driver's license page still describes the TVDL in the present tense: it goes to a non-citizen who is residing in Illinois, is authorized by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to be present in the country and can document that authorization, is not required to hold a license issued by the U.S. Department of State's Office of Foreign Missions, and is ineligible for a Social Security number, and it can be issued in any non-commercial class for four years or for the length of the authorized stay, whichever ends sooner. The 2026 Rules of the Road says the program has closed: effective July 1, 2024, TVDLs are no longer issued, and anyone who would have qualified for one can now apply for a standard driver's license. Cards already in circulation still appear on the fee table, which lists $5 for a duplicate or corrected TVDL. A Restricted Local License is a different animal altogether — it goes to qualified drivers who live in an area with a population of 3,500 or less and want to drive only within a limited area, and the application includes the routes you want to travel, which a facility turns into a route form for the Special License Unit and then a road test driven over those routes.

Motorcycles ride on a classification rather than a separate license. Class L covers any motor-driven cycle under 150cc and Class M any motorcycle of 150cc or more. A first-time applicant who does not already hold a valid Illinois driver's license takes the vision screening, both the basic and the motorcycle written exams, and a driving exam — but the driving exam is waived if you present an IDOT Motorcycle Rider Course Student Completion Card. Members of the Armed Forces on active duty outside Illinois, along with their spouses and children, may drive on an expired Illinois license for up to 120 days after returning to the state, provided they carry a Military Deferral Certificate with it.

Illinois licensing — frequently asked questions

Official sources

• Illinois Secretary of State — driver's license FAQs (new residents, international licenses, motorcycle permits)
• Illinois Secretary of State — Driver's License and State ID Card Information (application, temporary paper credential, renewal, motorcycle classifications)
• Illinois Secretary of State — driver's license, permit and reinstatement fee tables
• Illinois Secretary of State — Instruction Permit Requirements (enrollment, permit terms, supervising drivers)
• Illinois Secretary of State — Medical and Vision Conditions (vision standards, medical reporting, family reporting channel)
• Illinois Secretary of State — Driver's License and State ID Card Renewal (online eligibility and what sends you to a DMV)
• Illinois Rules of the Road — the Secretary of State's driver handbook (exam chapters, road-test maneuvers, residency window)
• Illinois General Assembly — 625 ILCS 5, Chapter 6, Article I: issuance of licenses, expiration and renewal

Checked against official state sources on August 19, 2026.