Temporary Visitor Driver’s License Requirements

To get an Illinois driver’s license as a noncitizen without a Social Security number, you need to prove you have lived in Illinois for more than a year, show a passport or accepted consular card, sign a declaration that you are ineligible for an SSN, and pass the vision, written, and road tests. Since July 1, 2024, Illinois no longer issues the old Temporary Visitor Driver’s License (TVDL) to new applicants. The Illinois temporary visitor driver’s license requirements have largely carried over, but you now receive a standard four-year driver’s license marked “Federal Limits Apply” instead of the purple-banner TVDL.¹

If you already hold a TVDL, it stays valid until the date printed on it. When you renew, you will apply for the standard license.

Who Qualifies

Illinois recognizes two tracks for noncitizen applicants, and the paperwork differs between them.

If You Have Immigration Documentation

If you have current documentation from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services showing you are authorized to be in the country, there is no 12-month Illinois residency requirement. You must live in Illinois, provide documents proving your name, date of birth, residency, and written signature, and you cannot be someone required to get a license through the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Foreign Missions.² Your license is valid for four years or the length of your authorized stay, whichever is shorter.

If You Have No Immigration Documentation

Without DHS documentation, you must show that you have lived in Illinois for more than one year. You need a passport or consular identification card that is either unexpired or expired by no more than two years. Consular cards are accepted only from Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, and Mexico.² You must also be ineligible for a Social Security number. Rather than producing SSN paperwork, you sign a declaration on the application confirming you are ineligible at the time of applying.³

In both tracks, applicants ages 18 to 20 who do not already hold a valid license must complete a six-hour adult driver education course before applying.²

Documents To Bring to the Facility

Bring originals. Photocopies are not accepted. The Secretary of State sorts documents into groups, and you need to satisfy each group that applies to you.

Written signature: a foreign passport, consular card, credit or debit card, or a canceled check dated within 90 days.
Date of birth: a foreign passport, consular card, birth certificate, or certified school transcript. Your passport or consular card typically covers both this and the signature requirement.
Residency: two separate proofs. Non-visa applicants must provide one document dated at least 12 months before the application and one dated within 90 days. Acceptable items include utility bills, bank statements, credit card statements, pay stubs, lease agreements, insurance policies, and official government mail.²
Social Security number: non-visa applicants are exempt and instead sign the declaration on the application.³

You will also need a completed Verification of Residency form, which you can pick up at a Secretary of State facility or download from the ILSOS website. Any document not in English should be accompanied by a certified translation. Gathering everything in advance is the single most effective way to avoid a second trip.

The Vision, Written, and Road Tests

Every applicant takes a vision screening, a written knowledge exam, and a behind-the-wheel road test. Schedule a road test appointment through the ILSOS website to cut your wait.

The written exam covers Illinois traffic laws, road signs, and safe driving practices from the Rules of the Road handbook, which is available in several languages on the Secretary of State’s site. The exam is given in English and may be offered in other languages depending on demand at that facility. If your language is not offered, you may bring your own interpreter, though interpreters are not allowed for commercial driver’s license exams.⁴

For the road test, you provide the vehicle. It must be properly licensed, insured, and in safe operating condition, and the examiner will check proof of insurance and registration before you start. Someone with a valid license has to drive the car to the facility for you. The examiner rides along while you perform turns, stops, lane changes, and parking. Any traffic violation or dangerous action during the test is an automatic failure. You can retake the test if you fail, but after six failed attempts the examiner will require a medical report from your doctor before you try again.⁵ Tests can also be postponed if weather, road conditions, or vehicle safety make the test unsafe.

Fees

Fees depend on age, not immigration status. Applicants ages 21 to 68 pay $30. Applicants 18 to 20 pay $5, as do those 69 to 80. Applicants 81 to 86 pay $2, and applicants 87 and older pay nothing.⁶ Be ready to pay at the facility.

Auto Insurance You Must Carry

Illinois requires every driver to carry liability insurance, and the rule applies the same way to noncitizen license holders. Minimum coverage is $25,000 for bodily injury per person, $50,000 for bodily injury per accident, and $20,000 for property damage per accident. You also need uninsured motorist bodily injury coverage at minimums of $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident.⁷

You will need proof of insurance when you bring your vehicle to the road test, and you must keep coverage in force for as long as you drive. Driving without insurance can lead to license suspension, vehicle impoundment, and fines. Those statutory minimums are the floor. If you cause an accident with damages above your coverage, you are personally responsible for the difference.

What the License Does and Doesn’t Let You Do

The standard noncitizen license prints “Federal Limits Apply” on its face.¹ That phrase means it is not REAL ID compliant. You cannot use it to board a domestic commercial flight, enter a military base, or get into federal buildings that require REAL ID. Use a valid passport or another federally accepted document for those purposes.

For non-visa applicants, the license is issued for four years.² Having the license does not make you eligible to register to vote, and the Secretary of State has put safeguards in place to keep noncitizen license holders off voter rolls. The law also bars the Secretary of State from sharing driver information with immigration authorities unless those authorities present a court-issued warrant, order, or subpoena.¹

Unlike the old TVDL, the new license can be used as a general form of identification for everyday purposes such as banking or picking up a prescription, because it no longer carries the “Not Valid for Identification” banner.

1
Illinois Secretary of State. Standard Driver’s Licenses for Non-Citizens Press Release
2
Illinois Secretary of State. Temporary Visitor Driver’s License
3
Illinois Secretary of State. Acceptable Identification Documents
4
Legal Information Institute. Illinois Admin Code Title 92, 1030.80 – Driver’s License Testing/Written Examinations
5
Illinois Secretary of State. Illinois Rules of the Road
6
Illinois Secretary of State. Fees
7
Illinois Department of Insurance. Auto Insurance Shopping Guide