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The Illinois Secretary of State (ISOS) maintains driving records on every licensed driver in the state for a period of time. Those Illinois driving records are accessible to the respective motorists and others for a wide range of purposes. Mostly, the records show how long an individual has been licensed and any moving violations or at-fault accidents.
How to Obtain Your Illinois Driving Record
The ISOS provides a Driving Record Abstract system that lets motorists buy and print out their respective driving record histories. Motorists also can go to a local ISOS services facility, complete an Abstract Request form and pay a modest fee. The ISOS also fulfills driving record requests made by filling out the Abstract Request form and mailing it along with the payment to the Secretary of State Driver Analysis Section in Springfield.
Applying to Get the Driving Record
The Abstract Request form is the tool that anyone can use to obtain the driving record of virtually any licensed driver in Illinois. The driving records are public information and subject to Freedom of Information Act requests as well as state governmental transparency laws.
Because personal driving records are public information, anyone can obtain them by listing each respective driver’s license number along with the individual’s name, date of birth and gender. All people requesting driving records must provide their identifying information, including driver’s license, permit or ID number along with full name, residential address and phone number.
Required Documentation
The only documentation required to obtain a driving record is a driver’s license or similar ID, the completed Abstract Request form, and the method of payment. When third parties request driving records for others, the ISOS does not provide any identifying information, such as the individual’s residential address. The state only will provide the actual driving record data, including licensing dates and renewals, histories of moving violations and any at-fault accidents.
Fees for Getting Your Driving Record and Payment Methods
The ISOS charges a modest $12 fee to fulfill driver record requests made online, in person at a services facility or by mail. Payments made using a credit or debit card are subject to an additional $1 processing fee. The fee structure could change at any given time, so double-checking the ISOS website and Abstract Request form will affirm the required fees and accepted methods of payment.
Types of Driver Records
Illinois Driving Record Abstracts exist for personal driver’s licenses and commercial driver’s licenses (CDL). They also cover graduate licensing steps completed for beginning teen drivers as well as the driving records for adult drivers who are licensed in Illinois. The records are not full lifelong accountings but do go back about 11 years before moving violations and other incidents no longer are included in the abstracts. More serious criminal violations, like DUI and reckless driving offenses resulting in death, could stay on the records much longer.