Traffic Stops
625 ILCS 5/6-112 — the license in hand on demand, and proof of insurance on paper or a phone
Every licensed driver keeps the license in immediate possession while driving, and displays it on demand to a member of the Illinois State Police, a sheriff or another police officer who is in uniform or showing a badge or other sign of authority.
Who handles this in Illinois: Illinois State Bar Association, Illinois Lawyer Finder; and legal aid programs and the state offices, listed in the Illinois directory.
- Display means handing the license itself into the officer's hands for inspection.
- A person charged with not having it is not convicted if they produce in court satisfactory evidence that a license had been issued to them and was valid at the time of the arrest.
Every driver carries evidence of insurance in the vehicle.
- Evidence of insurance may be a card from the insurer, the declarations page, a binder, a current rental agreement, or images on a cellular phone.
- Showing it on a phone is not consent for an officer to look at anything else on the device.
No card, treated as no insurance. A driver who does not comply with an officer's request to display evidence of insurance is deemed to be operating an uninsured motor vehicle.
The Fourth Amendment sets limits on every stop, and the Supreme Court of the United States has drawn several of them. It has held that a stop is reasonable where the officer has probable cause to believe a traffic violation occurred, whatever the officer's actual motive; that an officer making a lawful stop may order the driver, and the passengers, out of the vehicle; that a passenger is seized by the stop and may challenge it; and that a stop may last no longer than its purpose requires, so it may not be extended for a dog sniff without separate reasonable suspicion. It has also held that consent to a search has to be voluntary, judged on all the circumstances, and that the prosecution does not have to prove the person knew they could refuse. Those holdings are a floor: a state's own constitution and statutes can give more protection than they do, never less.
Sources for this section (9)
- 625 ILCS 5/6-112 — License and Permits to be carried and exhibited on demand
- 625 ILCS 5/7-602 — Insurance card
- 625 ILCS 5/3-707 — Operation of uninsured motor vehicle - penalty
- Whren v. United States, 517 U.S. 806 (1996) — A traffic stop is reasonable when there is probable cause of a traffic violation
- Pennsylvania v. Mimms, 434 U.S. 106 (1977) — An officer may order the driver out of a lawfully stopped car
- Maryland v. Wilson, 519 U.S. 408 (1997) — An officer may order passengers out of a lawfully stopped car
- Brendlin v. California, 551 U.S. 249 (2007) — A passenger is seized by a traffic stop and may challenge it
- Rodriguez v. United States, 575 U.S. 348 (2015) — A stop may not be extended beyond its purpose to run a dog sniff
- Schneckloth v. Bustamonte, 412 U.S. 218 (1973) — Consent to a search must be voluntary
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of October 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Illinois attorney.