April 25, 2024
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Local News

Illinois driver's license, ID card expiration extended to February

Secretary of State continues to encourage use of online services

By Shaw Media

Illinois residents have received an extension to renew driver's licenses and ID cards until Feb. 1, 2021. Secretary of State Jesse White is asking residents to conduct business online rather than in person at Driver Services Facilities as a safety measure against COVID-19. Those who visit facilities in person are required to wear masks and may have to wait outside because of capacity limits within the office. (Derek Barichello)

Expiration dates for driver’s licenses and ID cards have been extended an additional three months – from Nov. 1, until Feb. 1, 2021 – Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White announced Wednesday.

The new Feb. 1 extension also includes those who have October, November, December and January expiration dates. Expired driver’s licenses and ID cards will remain valid until Feb. 1, so customers do not have to visit a Driver Services facility during the pandemic, according to a news release from White’s office.

“Extending expiration dates until Feb. 1 means people with an expired driver’s license and ID card do not need to visit a Driver Services facility immediately,” White said. “During this pandemic, we continue to think creatively to serve the public as efficiently as possible, while making public health and safety our top priority.”

License plates stickers remain extended until Nov. 1. They can be renewed online.

White continues to urge the public to consider using online services when possible instead of visiting a facility to avoid heavy customer volume. Customers who can conduct business online can go to cyberdriveillinois.com to take advantage of online services, such as renewing license plate stickers, obtaining a duplicate driver's license or ID card, obtaining a driving record abstract or renewing a standard driver's license through the Safe Driver renewal program. People who conduct online transactions will avoid waiting in line at a facility.

White said online transactions continue to rise, with an increase of 84% in online license plate sticker renewals this year when compared to the same period in 2019. From June 1, 2019, through Sept. 20, 2019, the state tallied 654,596 online license plate sticker renewals. This year, June 1 through Sept. 20 posted more than 1.2 million online renewals.

White recently extended the driver’s license expiration date by one year for qualified drivers ages 75 and older. The new expiration date is their birthday in 2021.

For those customers who must visit a facility, face masks are required. In addition, customers are asked to be patient because of heavy volume and to be prepared to wait outside in various types of weather. This is because of social distancing, which limits the number of people inside a facility at one time.

For more information, visit cyberdriveillinois.com.