Driving with a suspended or revoked license (DWLS) is a very serious matter. It is a criminal offense. Many people think that getting a ticket for driving while suspended is no different than any other traffic offense. This is not true. Minor tickets such as disobeying a stop sign, speeding, failing to signal or not having insurance are petty offenses that carry at most a fine. DWLS has serious potential criminal penalties.
Criminal Penalties and Consequences
DWLS is at least a Class A misdemeanor, with a possible penalty of up to 364 days in jail and/or a fine of up to $2,500. If there are aggravating circumstances, it can be charged as a felony, and in some instances carry up to 7 years in prison and a fine of up to $25,000.00.
When charged even as a misdemeanor, it means a criminal arrest record, fingerprinting, mugshots and reports to the State Police and the FBI. It is not the least bit like a minor traffic ticket. Misdemeanor or felony, being released from custody requires the posting of a bond. If charged as a felony, the court process will proceed as any other felony.
Information about Suspensions
The Illinois Secretary of State (SOS) typically informs individuals of a pending suspension or revocation. This is done by mail to the last address on file with the SOS. Though individuals are required to notify the SOS when they move many fail to do so. In that case, the first time someone may become aware that their license is suspended is when they get arrested.
An individual, upon being notified of a license suspension, whether by mail or by arrest, should take three steps:
- Do not drive until it is legal to do so.
- Determine why the license is suspended.
- Take steps to clear the suspension.
The only way to know precisely why the license is suspended and what steps to take to clear the suspension is by obtaining a court purposes abstract. The abstract is an individual’s driving history. A step by step easy to follow guide to getting this history and restoring lost driving privileges can be found at Get Your Suspended Illinois Driver's License Back.
It is important to get the driving abstract to know exactly why a license is suspended. Examples of the most common suspensions are:
- Failure to Appear in Court
- Driving without Insurance
- Unpaid Parking Tickets
- Too Many Moving Violations
- Auto Emission Testing Failures
- Failure to Pay a Traffic Fine
- Statutory Summary Suspension (for more on this suspension see Illinois DUI Law)
While these are all driving related, there can be suspensions for non-driving matters, such as failure to pay child support. Further information can be found by studying the Suspended/Revoked License Fact Sheet.
Knowing the type of suspension is crucial in restoring driving privileges. Failures to appear can be cleared by getting the old ticket back into court. Mandatory Insurance Suspensions can be cleared by getting SR-22 insurance. Sometimes suspensions for too many moving violations can be lifted by returning to court on old tickets and requesting that the judge lift a conviction. These actions should be taken before being arrested, but can be helpful even after being arrested.
Impact of Restoring Driving Privileges
Any arrest for driving on a suspended or revoked license is a serious criminal case. Most judges and prosecutors consider the steps a driver has taken to restore his or her driving privileges in imposing a penalty, or even allow someone time to pursue restoring his license before assessing the penalty. In most cases, coming to court with either a good license or significant progress in that direction often greatly reduces the penalties.
That is why starting the restoration process is important even after being arrested.
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