Driving without a license is illegal in all 50 states. Coast to coast. Throw in Alaska and Hawaii too. If you drive without a license and get pulled over, you will get a ticket. As with most laws things are not as simple as they may first appear. Today we will dive a little more in depth regarding what it means to drive without a license, later we will talk about what it takes to obtain a license and keep it up to date.
There are a couple of different ways in which driving without a license is illegal. First and most obvious, it is illegal to drive if you have never been issued a driver’s license. This means that there is no driver’s license anywhere in your history. Second, it is illegal to drive with a temporarily suspended license. Third, it is illegal to drive with an expired license. Forth, it is illegal to drive with a permanently revoked license. Finally, you can get cited even if you do have a currently driver’s license but you do not currently have it on you while you are driving. It may help if you can later prove you have a current and valid license, but there is no guarantee.
All of these rules come down to one simple thing: while driving you need to carry a current, up to date, and valid driver’s license on you at all times. Driving is an inherently dangerous act. Cars weigh thousands of pounds and move extremely quickly. Decisions while driving have to be made in a split second. Driver’s licenses are our way of ensuring that everyone who is behind the wheel of a car has been trained and educated properly on how to operate that vehicle.