Illinois Driver’s License Facilities Are Closed. What Now?

10 things to know about driving during the pandemic


Driver’s license facilities in Illinois have been closed since mid-November, and due to the surge in coronavirus cases they’ll remain closed through at least Jan. 4 (most of them anyway — there are exceptions).

What does the temporary closure mean if your state ID or license has expired? Will TSA agents turn you away from the airport gate? 

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What if you’re a new driver who’s been waiting to get a driver’s license for the first time? 

If DMVs are closed, do you still need to have a current state sticker on your license plate? What about a city sticker?

Navigating a pandemic is difficult. Navigating the rules of the (paperwork) road on top of the pandemic is confusing.

We’ve got your road map.


1. Your expired license probably isn’t actually expired.

Given the frequent closures of state drivers facilities, and the inability (or unwillingness) for some people to visit them, Illinois has extended the deadline for updating your license or state identification card.

As long as they weren’t already expired before the pandemic, they’re automatically good through next May.

“Everyone with a driver’s license or an ID card that on its face currently looks expired or will be expiring soon actually has an expiration date moved up to June 1 of 2021,” Illinois Secretary of State’s office spokesman Henry Haupt said. 

2. Who can renew an ‘expired’ license online? Most people can, but not everyone.

Even with state facilities closed, most people can still get their license or ID renewed by visiting www.cyberdriveillinois.com

Because of COVID-19, the office of Secretary of State Jesse White has expanded online renewal options.

“If all you really need is to take the vision screening. The majority of those individuals will be allowed to renew their driver’s license online,” Haupt said. “We encourage people to take advantage of that and do their business with our office from the comfort of their own home. And if you do renew online you won’t have to stand in a line at a facility when they reopen.”

But not everyone has that option, including those with unsafe driving records, who are driving on a suspended license; and those who haven’t physically visited a DMV in awhile. “Someone who has not had a photo in eight years, you’re required to come in to get a new photo. That’s basically a fraud issue, we want to have fairly recent photos of individuals,” Haupt said.

3. What about state license plate stickers?

Most people should also be able to get a fresh license plate sticker online, too.

Illinois had temporarily let renewals slide because of the coronavirus, but that amnesty program ended in November.

The sticker will cost at least $151; the fee went up by $100 for most vehicles in 2020 in order to pay for infrastructure upgrades statewide.

Late on renewing the sticker? Haupt has a tip:

Renew online and print your receipt. That’s good for 30 days (while your sticker order is being processed and mailed) should you be caught driving or parked for having an expired sticker on your back plate.

To renew online, you’ll need a registration ID and a PIN number (something Haupt said most people keep in their glove compartment).

Uneasy about renewing online or want that sticker in hand right away?

Illinois does have seven drive-thru facilities open strictly for sticker renewals. Haupt said the locations were chosen specifically because they’re set up for drive-thrus.

Those locations:

—Chicago North, 5401 N. Elston Ave.

—Chicago South, 9901 S. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive

—Chicago West, 5301 W. Lexington St.

—Danville/Tilton, #5 Southgate

—Macomb, 466 Deer Rd.

—Rockford-Central, 3720 E. State St.

—Springfield, Dirksen 2701 S. Dirksen Parkway

4. What about vehicle emissions permissions?

If your car is due for an emissions test, you have to have proof of passing it before you can get a license plate sticker renewed, whether you get it online or at a drive-thru site, with rare exceptions.

“People who are required by Illinois EPA to pass an emissions test before renewing their license plate sticker, but who are in high-risk categories for complications with COVID-19, may call the secretary of state’s (office) at 217-782-2285 to renew their license plate sticker by phone,” Haupt said.

5. Some drivers facilities are still open to serve truckers.

DMVs are set to reopen Jan. 5, but Haupt said Secretary of State White is monitoring the coronavirus situation and consults the state public health department.

The priority, Haupt said, it keeping secretary of state staff and customers safe.

But certain facilities remain open for specific populations: truck drivers and new drivers.

Some 18 driver’s license locations throughout Illinois that serve truckers have not closed, as they are catering to those who need a current Commercial Drivers License to transport goods on the nation’s highways and byways.

“Secretary White fully understands the importance of the trucking industries’ ability to move goods and services throughout the state and throughout the country,” Haupt said.

It’s a big issue, and not just in Illinois.

A national trucking association has complained about a lack of options; according to a media release from the Commercial Vehicle Training Association: “Nationally, the industry is already running with a driver deficit of about 60,000 and now 25,000 - 40,000 drivers that need to be trained and licensed are still in limbo. Additionally, Pre-COVID-19, DMVs didn’t have enough manpower or locations to handle the demand for skills testing, leading to an annual $1.5 billion economic loss to our economy and a major problem. This problem is expected to be far worse post COVID-19. The lack of enough open DMV facilities in the state will likely make the problem worse.”

The locations serving CDL applicants are:

—Bradley, 1111 Blatt St.

—Charleston, 1010 E. St.

—Danville/Tilton, #5 Southgate

—DeKalb, 1360 Oakwood St.

—Elk Grove Village, 650 Roppolo Drive

—Marion, 1905 Rendleman St.

—Mascoutah, 9221 Beller Drive

—Moline/Silvis, 2001 Fifth St., Ste. #10

—Olney, 1302 S. West St.

—Peoria, 3311 N. Sterling Ave., #12

—Princeton, 225 Backbone Road East

—Quincy, 2512 Locust St.

—Rantoul, 421 S. Murray Road

—Rockford, 4734 Baxter Road

—Salem, 1375 W. Whittaker St.

—South Holland, 41 W. 162nd St.

—Springfield, 2701 S. Dirksen Pkwy.

—West Chicago, 1280 Powis Road

6. New drivers can still get licenses.

Teenagers eager to get behind the wheel sans supervision need not be deterred by a global pandemic. Certain facilities are open exclusively so they can get licenses for the first time.

“The vast majority of them (new driver’s license applicants) have already gone through driver’s education, they took the driving test through their school. The vast majority of teens don’t even need to take a drive test at a facility,” Haupt said. “All they will simply need is to provide their paperwork and then have their photo taken and then have their driver’s license mailed to them.”

Safety precautions are in place.

Secretary of state employees at drivers facilities are behind plexiglass, and some booths are closed for social distancing purposes.

Customers and workers must wear face coverings, and single-use plastic sheets cover the seats for behind-the-wheel exams.

Locations for first-time drivers are:

—Bradley, 1111 Blatt St.

—Charleston, 1010 E. St.

—Chicago North, 5401 N. Elston Ave.

—Chicago South, 9901 S. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive

—Danville/Tilton, #5 Southgate

—DeKalb, 1360 Oakwood St.

—Marion, 1905 Rendleman St.

—Mascoutah, 9221 Beller Drive

—Moline/Silvis, 2001 Fifth St., Ste. #10

—Olney, 1302 S. West St.

—Peoria, 3311 N. Sterling Ave., #12

—Princeton, 225 Backbone Road East

—Quincy, 2512 Locust St.

—Rantoul, 421 S. Murray Road

—Rockford, 4734 Baxter Road

—Salem, 1375 W. Whittaker St.

—Springfield, 2701 S. Dirksen Pkwy.

Per the secretary of state’s office: “Chicago North and Chicago South facilities will be open for new drivers only Tuesday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The other facilities listed above will operate under normal hours.”

7. Pandemic or not, city parking, sticker requirements are in effect.

The annual state sticker required on the back license plate is not the same as the annual sticker that Chicago requires its residents to affix to their front window.

While early in the pandemic Chicago temporarily offered late fee waivers for city stickers, and went easy on some parking rules, those amnesty periods are over.

More parking rules are in effect, including the winter snow ban parking rules.

So, if you’re in the city, you have to pay the meter (or use your smart phone app to pay). Want another tip? Paying by app puts more money into the city’s coffers versus the private company that leased the meters under former Mayor Richard M. Daley.

And if you live in Chicago, you need to have a current city sticker, which can be purchased at various locations including these official Chicago City Clerk locations, with updated COVID-19 procedures in place:

—City Hall Office, 121 North LaSalle St. Room 107 

Mon – Fri: 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
Sat – Sun: Closed 

—North Side Satellite Office, 5430 West Gale St.

Mon – Fri: 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

Sat – Sun: Closed 

—South Side Satellite Office, 5672 South Archer Ave.

Mon – Fri: 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

Sat – Sun: Closed 

A spokesperson for City Clerk Anna Valencia said the office offers “senior hours at our satellite locations on the last Tuesday of every month.”

There’s also the option to buy a city sticker online.

8. Hurry up and pay overdue tolls.

There are no employees staffing toll booths; due to the coronavirus, the tollway is all electronic for the foreseeable future.

That may not mean much to those who have an I-PASS or E-ZPass, but if you don’t have such a device and don’t have coins to drop into a tollbooth basket, drivers have seven days to visit www.illinoistollway.com to pay missed tolls.

Notice to drivers who incurred toll violations, even before the world shuddered at the novel coronavirus: Now’s your chance to knock a lot of money off that tab.

Through the end of the year, drivers who owe hefty fines for unpaid, overdue toll violations can pay them with just a $3 fee per unpaid toll, versus fines of $20 or $50 per toll.

But that relief deal ends when 2020 comes to a close.

9. Is an expired ID still good outside Illinois?

The coronavirus is a phenomenon.

Secretary of state spokesman Haupt assured WTTW News that the office had alerted all law enforcement in Illinois and nationwide about the state’s extension for licenses and IDs.

So if you do travel by air, TSA agents may give you a warning to get your identification up to date, but they must accept it.

The feds have pushed back their own ID deadline; anyone wanting to travel by plane without a passport has until October 2021 to get a REAL ID.

10. Have input on Illinois’ roadways?

The Illinois Department of Transportation is soliciting feedback from travelers on road conditions, snow removal and your daily commute pattern.

IDOT’s annual survey (in conjunction with the University of Illinois at Springfield) is seeking input through December. (You can also go here for information.)

“Information allows us to better understand travel habits as well as areas where we’re doing a good job and those that may need improvements,” acting Illinois Transportation Secretary Omer Osman said in a media release. “We represent and try to meet the best interests of all Illinois citizens and individual travelers and in an effort to help us continue to provide the best service, please take a few minutes to complete the survey.”

Go here to see past data from the survey.

Follow Amanda Vinicky on Twitter: @AmandaVinicky


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