Top Renewing Your CDL

All Illinois commercial driver's license (CDL) renewals must be made in person due to increased security concerns. Any Illinois Secretary of State driver license office can assist with renewals, though not all provide commercial driver license road tests.

To renew your Illinois CDL, be sure to bring:

• Your old license.

• Sufficient cash or a check to pay all your fees. Most Illinois Secretary of State offices handling driver's licenses do not accept credit or debit cards.

Fees will include:

• The basic renewal fee of $60

• Renewal fees for each endorsement or classification upgrade, usually $5 each

Be prepared for:

• A vision test each renewal period.

• A written test every other renewal period. This may be waived if your driving record is perfectly clean.

• If you are 75 or older at the time of renewal, you will be required to take a road test.

• If you have a hazardous materials endorsement, you must take the written hazmat test every time you renew your license.

If you may need to take the written Illinois CDL test again, you will want to review the current CDL manual before you apply to renew your CDL. This is so you'll be up-to-date on any changes made to the laws since you took your last written exam. You may also need to have a new medical exam.

Top Replacing Your CDL

If you don't have your old Illinois CDL license, you will need to apply for a duplicate license. You will not be able to automatically renew your license without the old one in hand, so allow plenty of time to complete this process before your original CDL expires.

If your license is missing because it was stolen, you will need to file an official police report and bring it with you to the driver services office to begin the replacement process. In this case, you will also have to have original acceptable proofs of identity with you.

For all proofs of identity, it's up to the discretion of the reviewing personnel at the driver services office to accept them.

Check your local driver services office hours before going in; some branches are closed on Mondays but are open on Saturdays.

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