Learner’s Permits Illinois Guide

Getting an Illinois learner’s permit is an exciting time for every teenager that calls Illinois home. This milestone comes with a few responsibilities. One of which is to carry that Illinois learner’s permit every time they drive.

We have run into a rash of students who have pictures of their permits on their phones, or no permits at all when they arrive for a behind-the-wheel (BTW) lesson.

This is resulting in $50 no-show fees for those students, as well as an empty seat for the instructor. Seats that we can agree on are very valuable at this point.

Our goal is to drive with everyone who has an appointment with us, not to collect fees. However, we cannot, and will not, drive a student without a valid Illinois learner’s permit in their possession.

There are legal reasons for this and we will discuss each of the following.

PER THE LEARNER’S PERMIT ILLINOIS RULES OF THE ROAD BOOK:

“Your instruction permit allows you to drive during the behind-the-wheel portion of a driver education course with an adult instructor. It also allows you to drive with a parent, legal guardian, or responsible adult who is age 21 or older, has a valid license and has at least one year of driving experience. This individual must sit in the front passenger seat adjacent to you. After you have successfully completed the driver education course, you may continue to practice driving with an instruction permit, under the direct supervision of a responsible adult, as outlined above.” (Page 16 of 2022 version)

(625 ILCS 5/6-112) (from Ch. 95 1/2, par. 6-112)
Sec. 6-112. License and Permits to be carried and exhibited on demand. Every licensee or permittee shall have his driver’s license or permit in his immediate possession at all times when operating a motor vehicle…”  (Source: P.A. 102-538, eff. 8-20-21.)

In both quotes, it does not mention anywhere that a picture of your Illinois learner’s permit on your phone will suffice as a permit. If you try to copy your permit on a copier, there is a watermark that shows up saying the copy is VOID. A copy is not legal, so it should follow that a picture of an Illinois permit is not legal. If a photo of a permit ever becomes legal, I believe there will be some legislation about it, and we will all know that it is now an acceptable ID.

In addition to these two Illinois permit rules that are available to the public, we are required to operate under the rules of the Secretary of State for driver training services which say the following:

WHEN ENGAGED IN BEHIND THE WHEEL INSTRUCTION, EACH STUDENT MUST HAVE IN HIS OR HER POSSESSION A VALID INSTRUCTION PERMIT ISSUED BY THE SECRETARY OF STATE. (ILL. ADMIN. CODE TIT. 92 § 1060.181)

This is a rule that we have brought to your attention many times:

1. We make sure we mention to every student in class that they need to have their actual Illinois learner’s permit for each and every drive with us as well as with their parents.
2. We send out a reminder email and text message (if you have signed up for those) for every BTW lesson that is scheduled with a reminder to bring a valid instruction permit or else you will incur a fee for a missed appointment.
3. Your initial contract with our school explicitly mentioned a fee would get charged if your students didn’t have an Illinois learner’s permit for a scheduled lesson.
4. We suggest to the students that they keep their Illinois learner’s permit with their phones in their phone cases.  They always have their phones with them.  Their phones normally don’t get put in the laundry so the permit should remain safely in their possession.

A student will not be allowed to drive without an original Illinois learner’s permit in hand. Period.

Please do not question the instructors or any of Joyce’s Driving School staff, if they tell you there is a fee that will be charged to you. Even on the first offense, there will be a fee charged.

We want to make sure that everyone understands what is expected to eliminate surprises for you or your student. We look forward to training your teen and teaching them to navigate our roads safely and responsibly. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us.