After you pass in Illinois: restrictions and your licence

By the end of this topic you can

• You can state the nighttime driving limits for drivers under 18.
• You can explain the passenger limit in the first 12 months of licensing.
• You can explain what keeps restrictions from lifting at 18.
• You can describe a parent's power to cancel a minor's license.
• You can explain when a license issued under 21 expires.

What you need to know and understand

• Drivers under 18 may not drive from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. Sunday to Thursday, or 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. Friday and Saturday, and local curfews may be stricter.
• For the first 12 months, or until 18 if sooner, you may carry only one passenger under 20, unless they are your siblings, stepsiblings, children or stepchildren.
• After that period, passengers are limited to one in the front seat and no more in the back than there are seat belts.
• You must keep a conviction-free record for the six months before your 18th birthday for the restrictions to end on time.
• Drivers under 19 may not use any phone while driving, even hands-free, except in an emergency.
• A parent or guardian who consented to your license can cancel it at any time before you turn 18.
• Licenses for drivers under 21 are printed vertically and expire three months after the 21st birthday.

Your first year on the road

During the Initial Licensing Phase the state nighttime limits continue, and in the first 12 months you may have only one passenger under 20 who is not your sibling, stepsibling, child or stepchild. Breaking the nighttime rules can lead to suspension.

These rules do not stop you driving to school, work or activities in daytime; they keep your early driving low-risk while your experience grows.

• No more passengers than seat belts, with only one person in the front seat.
• No phone use at all, including hands-free, until you turn 19.
• Zero tolerance for alcohol until 21.

When the limits lift, and what can delay them

At 18 you move to the Full Licensing Phase, where age-based limits no longer apply. A traffic conviction in the six months before your 18th birthday can extend the restrictions past 18.

Two or more moving violation convictions within 24 months bring a suspension of at least 30 days for drivers under 21, and a serious moving violation under 18 can reduce your license back to an instruction permit. If you are under 18 and charged with an offense after a crash that seriously injures or kills another person, the SOS may deny or refuse to renew your license, even if alcohol was not involved.

Parents, records and your license card

Your parent or guardian can cancel your license for any reason until you turn 18 by contacting the SOS. It is not reinstated until they consent again or you turn 18, and you must then reapply, retest and pay the fees. Parents can also view a minor's driving record online at no cost using a PIN from the SOS.

Your license is printed vertically while you are under 21 and expires three months after your 21st birthday, when you renew to a standard card. The SOS also offers a voluntary Parent-Teen Driving Contract in the Parent-Teen Driving Guide to agree house rules. Drivers who use bioptic telescopic lenses have separate vision requirements, covered in our deeper bioptic driving guide.

Common mistakes

• Driving three friends home in your first few months. Only one passenger under 20 who is not family is allowed in the first year.
• Staying out past 11 p.m. on a Saturday. The limit applies until you turn 18.
• Taking a quick hands-free call at 18. The phone ban lasts until 19.
• Thinking one ticket near your 18th birthday does not matter. It can keep your restrictions in place past 18.

Test yourself: After you pass in Illinois: restrictions and your licence

Answer each question, then read the explanation. Questions come in a random order each time.

Go deeper

• Illinois GDL Rules
• Illinois Bioptic Driving
• Sharing the Road in Illinois and What to Do After a Crash