The exact cost of reinstatement will vary depending on it was revoked in the first place. The very minimum that you will have to pay to change your driving status is a $70 court-related suspension fee. With more severe charges, you can have to pay all the way up to a $500 court-ordered suspension fee.
To understand how much your payment for reinstatement fees will be, it is important to know the reason why it was suspended or revoked. The number of violations on your license and the nature of them can greatly affect how much it will cost.
To discuss getting your license back call The Law Offices of Peter A Buh at 708-274-4499 to schedule a free consultation with a license reinstatement attorney in Illinois.
Suspended vs. Revoked
Before starting the process of getting your license back, it is important to figure out if your license was suspended or revoked. Although the terms are similar, they mean very different things from a legal perspective.
A license suspension usually occurs for more minor crimes and traffic tickets. They typically have a set period of time that must pass before you are eligible to reinstate your driver's license. Depending on the offense, this can last for anywhere from one month to many years.
If it's a license revocation, this means that, while there is a set time period, you are not automatically eligible to reinstate your license once that time ends. After the time passes you will have to schedule a hearing to demonstrate to the hearing officer that you have corrected whatever issue caused the license suspension in the first place. However, even attending this hearing is not a guarantee that you will be able to get your license back. Many people end up having to attend multiple hearings before they can reinstate their license.
Reasons for Suspension
There are a variety of traffic offenses and other criminal offenses that can cause your license to be suspended in Illinois. Some of these reasons include:
- Statutory Summary Suspension
- Drunk Driving Suspension
- Underage Drunk Driving Suspension
- Field Sobriety Suspension
- Driving Without Insurance
- Unsatisfied Judgement
- Family Responsibility
Statutory Summary Suspension
When arrested for a DUI, you are required to submit yourself for a drug evaluation or alcohol evaluations depending on the nature of the arrest. If you do not do this within a certain period of time, your license can be suspended as a consequence.
Drunk Driving Suspension
If your blood alcohol content is above the legal limit when driving, then you will be subject to, at the very least, a 12-month suspension. For multiple DUIs, each subsequent suspension will be longer, and eventually, if you continue to get DUIs, your license will be permanently revoked. If you have alcohol abuse issues, you will likely be required to go through alcohol treatment and alcohol education programs before you would be allowed to apply for another license.
Even after completing all of the requirements, you may only be given a restricted driving permit with you which you have to use an alcohol ignition interlock device before you drive your vehicle.
Underage Drunk Driving Suspension
If you are under the age of 21 and are driving under the influence of alcohol, even if it is not over the legal limit of 0.08%, your license will be suspended for a total of six months. With subsequent offenses, the total time of the suspension will go up to a 12-month period.
Field Sobriety Suspension
In the state of Illinois, if you are pulled over by a police officer with the suspicion of a DUI and refuse to complete a field sobriety test, your license may be suspended. This is called a discretionary suspension and means that your license is being suspended until further action takes place.
Mandatory Insurance Conviction Driver's License Suspension
In the state of Illinois, driving without insurance results in an automatic license suspension of 3 months. If you are caught driving without insurance multiple times then the length of that suspension will increase as well as the fines that you have to pay.
Unsatisfied Judgment
An unsatisfied judgment suspension occurs when two drivers are involved in an accident and one of the drivers, the one at fault, is required to pay or compensate a certain amount. If they do not do this, then they can temporarily lose their license for not satisfying the requirements of the final judgment.
Family Responsibility Suspension
In Illinois, you can have your license suspended due to the law: "Deadbeats Don't Drive." This law was originally written to help lower the percentage of parents in Illinois who were not paying their child support payments. If you are found to not be paying your child support on time or not participating in child care, the court can suspend your license until you have demonstrated that you will pay it on time and in the full amount.
How To Reinstate Your Driver's License
If your suspension period has come to an end and you are ready to get your driving privileges back, there are certain steps that you will need to follow.
Before you start the process of filing your paperwork and paying your reinstatement fee you will want to speak with a qualified attorney. An experienced attorney will know the license reinstatement process like the back of their hand, making it much easier to get your driving privileges back in a more reasonable period of time.
Once you have hired an attorney they will be able to help you fill out all of the necessary paperwork and walk you through the hearing process. There are two types of hearings for license reinstatement: Formal hearings and informal hearings. A formal hearing is what you would typically imagine with a court hearing and they are typically only used for more serious cases like DUIs. In an informal hearing, you are mainly just interacting with an informal hearing officer who will handle the process from start to finish.
Not all suspensions require a formal hearing, but even in informal hearings, it is beneficial to have a legal professional by your side to help ensure a successful hearing.
How Long Does it Take to Reinstate a License in Illinois?
The time period that it takes to reinstate a license in Illinois will depend on how long your license was originally suspended. You will need to wait out the entire period of suspension before you can start the actual process of getting your license reinstated.
After you have finished the waiting period, you will want to find an attorney to walk you through all the steps of the license reinstatement process. Once you have submitted the application for reinstatement and paid the license reinstatement fee you will have to wait approximately 4-6 weeks for your hearing. Your attorney will accompany you to the license reinstatement hearings and help you to answer the questions from the hearing officer. If you are approved then you can expect to get your full approval and be back on the roads within a few business days when the suspension is taken off your driving record.
Get Help From an Illinois Reinstatement Attorney
When you receive a suspension on your driving record it can be difficult to deal with. After all, most people rely on their motor vehicle as their way of getting to and from work, school, and other commitments. While an attorney can't make your license suspension shorter, they can help you to get your license reinstated once that period of time has passed.
Working with an experienced attorney increases the chances of having a successful case and can reduce the stress associated with going through the legal system. They will help you with everything from paying the filing fee to
Contact us at The Law Offices of Peter A. Buh to schedule a free consultation and learn how we can help you get through this difficult time.