Home Driver's License Illinois
Illinois Driver's License validator
How the Driver's License format works
- Format
- 1 letter followed by 11 or 12 digits
- Example
- A12345678901
Things to watch for
- Format-only check — does not confirm the license actually exists, is valid, or is registered to a real driver
- The number encodes no checksum digit we verify; the leading letter is typically the first letter of the holder's last name
- Runs entirely in your browser — nothing you type is transmitted or stored
^[A-Z]\d{11,12}$An Illinois driver’s license number is one letter followed by 11 or 12 digits — e.g. A12345678901 — issued by the Illinois Secretary of State. Illinois is one of a handful of states where driver licensing sits inside the Secretary of State’s office rather than a dedicated DMV, alongside a leading-letter convention it shares with Florida, Michigan, Maryland, and Wisconsin: the letter is typically the first letter of the holder’s last name, though this tool doesn’t attempt to verify that.
What this checker verifies
This tool confirms the input is exactly one letter followed by either 11 or 12 digits, catching a wrong digit count, a missing leading letter, or stray characters left over from copy-pasting a scanned document.
What a pass doesn’t confirm
Illinois’s number carries no check digit this tool recomputes, so matching one of the two accepted digit counts is the limit of what a browser-only check confirms. It doesn’t confirm the Secretary of State actually issued that number, that the license is currently valid, or that it belongs to a real driver.
Scope: format-only validation, entirely client-side.
Content last reviewed 2026-08-09.
Driver's License FAQ
What is the format of an Illinois driver's license number?
One letter followed by 11 or 12 digits, e.g. A12345678901, issued not by a DMV but by the Illinois Secretary of State — one of a small number of states where the Secretary of State's office, not a Department of Motor Vehicles, runs driver licensing.
Does the leading letter on an Illinois license mean anything?
It's typically the first letter of the holder's last name under the Secretary of State's long-standing issuance convention, but this checker doesn't verify that encoding — any single letter followed by 11 or 12 digits passes.
Does a valid format confirm the license belongs to a real person?
No. It only confirms the shape is right. Confirming who holds a specific number requires the Secretary of State's own driver records.