How difficult is it to get this thing back the first time? I hear a lot of bad things…
Experiences please.
What do you mean by “get it back?”
Don’t know what you mean by “get it back,” but I moved to New Jersey (from Joliet) in 1998. I moved back in 2006. To get my Illinois license back, I just had to take a written test – which I nailed. (100% correct.) My strategy:
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If an answer choice is “All of the above,” PICK IT.
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No matter how ridiculous it is and overprotective it is, pick the safest answer choice. For example, if the question is, “What do you do at a stop sign?” and you have these answer choices…
A) Continue if there’s no traffic coming.
B) Come to a complete stop, ensure there’s no traffic coming, then drive through.
C) Phone ahead two weeks in advance to all residences and businesses at the intersection and warn them that you’ll be using that intersection and they might want to watch out for your vehicle so they don’t get hurt. Then, file a driving plan with the NTSB. After that, have your brakes checked by a state-approved authorized service garage. Come to a complete stop and look both ways. Pull over, take out your cell phone, and call everybody who could conceivably be using this intersection in the next three weeks, asking them if they plan to cross your path. Exit the vehicle and press your ear to the ground and listen for oncoming traffic. Very gently reenter the vehicle, lock your doors, and fasten your safety belt. Pull carefully back on to the road, gently roll down your window, stick your finger in your mouth, and use it to check wind conditions. Look both ways again. Put your vehicle into second gear and your right hand on the emergency break lever. If there is absolutely no crossing traffic, gently cross through the intersection.
D) If it has a white border, ignore it – white borders mean optional.
…then pick answer choice C.
I’ve moved away from IL and then back three times…
If you have a CDL it’s a pain in the ass, you will retake every single exam. I was at the Secy. of States office for almost an entire eight hou day. If you don’t have a CDL you’ll just take the regular car test. No driving test required.
Also, if you have a motorcycle endorsement make sure it’s still on your license before you walk out the door, otherwise you’ll have to retake written and road to get it back.
I moved to California in the early 80s, but never gave them my IL license when I applied for a CA one. I said I’d lost it (didn’t want to be without any license for the week or so it took them to get it to you in those days). I assumed they would contact IL and cancel it out.
When I moved back to Chicago, I went to see what it would take to get another IL license. They looked in their computer and said, “You already have an active IL license.” So I just dug it out of the old junk drawer and there you are!
Is this hard to do even after you meet the requirements? Does anyone have any stories?
I think your license should be revoked permanently after 1 dui.
It’s very time consuming and extremely expensive to get your license back after a DUI. My experience comes form dealing with clients (mental health) who have gone through the process; however, if you are well off and have quality legal representation your experience will be very different.
Did the OP mean getting it back after a traffic infraction? Goofy IL takes your license with a speeding ticket (and I assume any moving violation), returning it after the trial is complete or you bail the license out. I had to go down to the police station where I got the ticket to bail it out because I had to travel for business and no matter what the cops say, the ticket doesn’t give you permission to drive on it.
Why shouldn’t it be difficult to get a license back after a DUI?? Seems to me there are a lot of folks with tons of DUIs who, for some reason, keep getting their licenses back. Just doesn’t seem right to me.
Yeah, that seems kind of stupid to do that; what if you have to fly the next day?
I actually considered getting a duplicate license just in case. I’m usually pretty good about following the speed limit (well, that’s a lie – I usually go about 10mph OVER, but I’m still tailgated like you wouldn’t believe. I’m really, really sorry that I’m speeding and STILL not going fast enough for you folks. Really.) and am very careful about all the other traffic laws (unlike bikers who think “share the road” means “let me hog it and violate every rule under the sun”), but still, I’d like to have the duplicate as a backup just in case.
I believe the OP is asking how difficult it is to get it back after getting a DUI. The same poster also started this thread - Getting DL back after 1 DUI a few hours after starting this thread.
Why do you need to start two threads in the same forum asking basically the same question?
Are you going to stop driving drunk?
Was your license suspended or revoked? If it was fully revoked, you generally have to start over again after the revocation period and apply like a new driver and take all of the tests again. If it was suspended, the DMV should be able to tell you the specific steps you have to take either at the end of the suspension period, or steps to apply to have the suspension lifted.
In Virginia, the DMV has a web application where you can login and check your driver’s license information. There’s a little section that supposedly is supposed to list conditions for getting a driver’s license unsuspended, tailored to the reason that your license was suspended (i.e. not just a copy of a “so your license is suspended” pamphlet", but specific information related to your case) but fortunately I’ve never had to consult it.
Just FYI, your AAA card (and membership cards from some, but not all, lesser known motor clubs) serves as a bail-bond card for routine traffic offenses in Illinois and some other states. You can turn over your AAA card to a police officer in place of your driver’s license. If you don’t show up in court (or pay by mail, if allowed), AAA will then pay the court your bail money and try to collect it from you.
That’s the one good reason I have for signing up for AAA instead of taking towing coverage with my insurance.
You can also post a cash bond when you get the ticket in lieu of your license. You can get a bail bond card from other places as well – I used to have one through the DuPage County Farm Bureau of all places.