How old is too old to drive in IL? State law changes license renewal requirements
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- New Illinois law raises age for road test for renewal from 79 to 87 years old.
- Illinois law effective July 1, 2026 raises in-person renewal age from 75 to 79.
- Immediate family can report unsafe drivers starting July 1, 2026; reports not anonymous.
A new Illinois state law going into effect next July will change the requirements for residents in their 70s and older to renew their driver’s licenses.
The legislation raises the age an Illinois resident must go in-person to a DMV to renew their driver’s license from 75 to 79 years and increases the age requirement for taking a behind-the-wheel driving test to renew from 79 to 87.
Drivers ages 79 to 86 are required to take a vision test to renew, and drivers in that age group must also take a written test if they have a traffic violation on record.
Additionally, drivers aged 87 and older with a regular driver’s license and drivers 75 and older with a commercial driver’s license must pass a road test to renew their license.
“And there’s also a related law that a family member can file a report if they’re worried,” Teri Ross, executive director of Illinois Legal Aid Online, said in a Dec. 5 interview with the News-Democrat.
Another portion of the updated Illinois Vehicle Code allows immediate family members to submit information to the secretary of state’s office if they are concerned a family member is unsafe to drive due to a medical condition, including “suspected chronic alcoholism or habitual use of narcotics or dangerous drugs.”
Reports cannot be submitted anonymously, and the reporting provision for immediate family members also goes into effect Wednesday, July 1, 2026.
Previously, the vehicle code only specified medical practitioners, police officers, state’s attorneys or members of the judiciary could report drivers they believed to be unsafe.
The piece of legislation to change the age requirement for in-person renewals and allow immediate family members to report unsafe drivers is House Bill 1229, also known as the “Road Safety and Fairness Act.”
The legislation passed with 70% of lawmakers signing on as co-sponsors, according to an Aug. 18 news release from the Illinois Secretary of State’s office. Before the act was passed, Illinois was one of five states to not allow immediate family members to report concerns about a relative’s ability to drive safely.
“The Road Safety & Fairness Act is common-sense, bipartisan legislation that will make our roads safer for everyone and make the process more fair for seniors,” Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias said in the release. “In signing this legislation, the Governor has aligned Illinois’ reporting and testing standards with other states that have long since made these changes to increase safety and fairness on our roads.”
Under the new law, drivers age 79 and 80 must renew their driver’s license every four years and are no longer required to take a driver’s test to renew. Drivers age 81 to 86 must renew every two years, more frequently than most drivers, but are also no longer required to take an on-road driver’s test based on their age to renew.
Drivers aged 87 and older in Illinois must renew their driver’s license every year and are still required to take vision and driving tests. Drivers younger than 79 can renew their driver’s licenses online, while residents aged 79 and older must renew in-person.
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