Application Process

The Office of International Student Services has copies of the Rules of the Road (PDF) available for students to pick up in HRB 10.

To apply for a driver’s license, you will need to have the following documents:

  • Passport
  • Visa
  • I-94
  • Form I-20
  • One proof of Illinois address, for example:
    • bank statement,
    • transcript
    • tuition invoice (with address listed on it)
      • from your Self-Service Account, select “Account Billing Information” → “UI Pay” → “Transaction History” → Select the most recent statement under the “Confirmation #” column → then “Printable Statement” which displays your address as listed in your Self Service account and you can print it from the setting button of your navigator

Review the Illinois Secretary of State Document Requirements to Obtain a Driver’s License/State ID Card (PDF) for a complete list of acceptable documents.

Students on OPT

Students on OPT will need their valid EAD with Form I-20 in order to apply for a driver’s license.  For students that have not yet received their EAD, their OPT is in processing, they have a driver’s license that is expiring, and have been living in Illinois for at least a year and are still living in Illinois, you may apply for a Temporary Visitor Driver’s License (TVDL).

Location

The Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) in Springfield, Illinois is located at the following address:

1650 Wabash Ave.
Springfield, IL 62704

phone:
217-782-6030 
217-785-3000 

Organ Donation

When applying for a driver’s license in Illinois, you will be asked if you would like to be an organ donor. The Illinois Organ/Tissue Donor Registry is a confidential computerized database that documents a person’s wishes regarding donation. Information contained in the registry is only released to organ and tissue procurement personnel and medical examiners after all efforts to save a person’s life have failed. First-Person Consent makes your decision to be an organ/tissue donor legally binding. Additional witnesses or family consent is no longer required; your wishes will be honored.  There are many resources on their website if you have questions about this decision.