• I got my driver’s license back.

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    "I personally recommend Mr. Callahan to anyone who needs help getting full reinstatement."

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  • Out of State License Reinstated!

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    "From the first moment we contacted John Callahan we felt comfortable in our decision of retaining him for our case."

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  • DUI License Revocation

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    "Mr. Callahan went above and beyond to help me with my case."

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  • Full Reinstatement!

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    "Thank you again to John and his staff!"

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Contact John W. Callahan to get your Illinois driver’s
license reinstated now: 1-877-469-4535

License Reinstatement

How we can reinstate your Illinois driver’s license.

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Out of State Revocation

If you live outside of Illinois, we can clear your license.

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Successful Cases

Take a look at a sample of our great results.

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FAQ

Illinois license reinstatement questions.

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Out of State License Reinstatement Lawyer

1. I live out of state, can you help me reinstate or lift the national driver database hold on my Illinois driver's license?

Yes!  As long as you are eligible by law to reinstate or clear your license in Illinois, driver's license lawyer John W. Callahan will get the job done for you.  If you need help in finding out if you are eligible to clear your driver's license in Illinois, feel free to call us anytime.  That is what we are here for.  Attorney John W. Callahan has represented thousands of clients who have lived outside of Illinois for years or even decades - or even some who just recently moved or are planning to move from Illinois.  If you live in a state outside of Illinois and find that you cannot renew your driver's license where you currently live due to a driving under the influence charge from a long time ago or if you have a hold on your Illinois driving privileges from from the national driver database, John W. Callahan will be able to clear the hold on your license in Illinois so that you can renew or obtain your driver's license where you currently live.

The process for an out-of-state and an in-state license reinstatement client are very similar.  It takes time.  The details are important.  We prepare you, the client.  We make sure that all of your treatment documents are presented to the Secretary of State and that you are prepared for your hearing.  We have had success in representing numerous clients from out-of-state and getting their licenses either fully reinstated in Illinois or cleared so that you can obtain a driver's license in your home state where you now reside.

In the past several years with the implementation of the PDPS (Problem Driver Pointer System), which is a national database of problem criminal cases including DUI's, we at the law offices of John W. Callahan, Ltd., have been retained by more than 1,000 clients who have had their licenses valid in their state for years, but as a result of this computer database implementation, their license is now revoked in the State of Illinois and thus they cannot get a clear and valid license in their home state.  We know very much about how this system works.  We can request the records from PDPS and prepare our clients for a formal administrative hearing so that they can reinstate their license.

Should you live out-of-state and have any questions about reinstating your license in Illinois and wish to retain John W. Callahan, Ltd., you should contact us immediately at the number below.

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2. I live out of state, should I fill out an out-of-state hearing application?

No.  I have seen numerous cases where people have retained me to reinstate their license in Illinois at the Secretary of State after having first been denied through the out-of-state process. I believe the reason for this is that the people who mail in the out-of-state hearing applications typically use their out-of-state treatment provider.  When that treatment provider goes through the requirements, they are not experienced with the level of detail that the Illinois Secretary of State requires for the reinstatement process.  Many of the required documents for an administrative hearing include the discharge summary, individualized treatment plan, DUI risk education certificate, continuing care plan, etc.  All of these documents require specific information and specific input from the client.  If you do not use an alcohol evaluator from Illinois, you are at a disadvantage.

If the client is not aware of all of the requirements and the out-of-state evaluator is not aware of the requirements, it will hinder your ability to clear your license or obtain license reinstatement inside the State of Illinois.  This is why, if you live out-of-state and you are considering submitting an out-of-state hearing application to the Secretary of State of Illinois, you should call the law offices of John W. Callahan, Ltd. for a consultation to discuss your potential license reinstatement application inside the state of Illinois.  Don't be shy!  Driver's license lawyer John W. Callahan talks to people from outside of Illinois every single day who are interested in reinstating their driver's license.

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3. Do I need to travel to Illinois in person to clear the hold on my Illinois license or can I do a remote computer hearing online from the State where I currently reside?

If you live outside of Illinois, the most important change for my clients in the past few years is the ability to do a remote hearing to clear the hold that Illinois has on your ability to obtain your state's drivers license. Our firm was part of the initial test group of attorneys that started the remote hearing process and we have probably done more out of state remote hearings than any firm in Illinois with a 97% first time success rate.

As long as you have or can obtain a valid state ID card from where you live, we should be allowed to perform the whole process of your license clearance. You will need to be able to use (or have someone help you setup) a phone with the Microsoft TEAMS app or a computer that will allow TEAMS access.  That is it.  

We then guide you through the three phases of reinstatement.  First, once you retain us, we send you an Authorization for Release of Information to allow the Illinois Secretary of State to send us your records.  This phase normally takes around 2 weeks.  Next, during the second phase of the process we typically refer you to one of the best licensed alcohol evaluators in the State of Illinois so that we can submit the proper required documentation to the Secretary of State for your remote hearing - and you don't even need to come to Illinois for the evaluation because since COVID hit, Illinois allows remote alcohol evaluations!  Once we receive your records and the required treatment docs from the evaluator we move to the final and most important third phase.   In the third phase we create a worksheet with a list of all of the questions that we will ask you at the remote hearing.  We practice with you over and over so that you are well prepared - until you get it.  Sometimes, we need to obtain some forms from either friends and family or if your are in AA, members of AA to submit to the Secretary of State.  We then schedule your hearing remotely. I have had clients perform their hearings from almost every state in the USA.  Some hearings have been done while the client was in a foreign country - as long as the Internet speed can handle the video hearing you can perform the hearing from anywhere.  

Another piece of good news!  The wait for results of your remote hearing is consistently 30 days faster than if you did the hearing in person in Illinois; typically taking about 45 days for your results!

At the law offices of John W. Callahan, Ltd., we often represent clients, whether they live inside the State of Illinois  If you have any questions or would like to retain John W. Callahan, Ltd. to represent you as a result of DUI or DWI from outside the state of Illinois  at a formal administrative hearing with the Secretary of State, you should contact us immediately.

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4. I was previously denied relief and denied a driver's license reinstatement at a formal hearing.  What can John W. Callahan, Ltd. do for me?

At the law offices of John W. Callahan we have represented several clients who were previously denied their license reinstatement from a formal administrative hearing.  What we typically do with these clients is request all of the documents from the Secretary of State, as well as their treatment documents that they provided to the Secretary of State at that formal administrative hearing.  We meticulously go through the details to find out where the inconsistencies in their testimony were when they testified at the Secretary of State hearing.  We try to iron out those facts with the Secretary of State.

What we have typically found when a client has been previously denied their reinstatement after going to a formal administrative hearing with the Secretary of State of Illinois is that the client testified inconsistently with what was reported in their treatment documents.  An example would be if the client reported to their evaluator that on the night of their second DUI they consumed five to six beers in three hours and the client also testified at the Secretary of State that they had eight to ten beers in two hours.  That inconsistency would lead them to a denial due to the fact that the report from the evaluator and the testimony to the Secretary of State was inconsistent.  We will help find any inconsistencies and help resolve these problems when we bring our clients to the next formal reinstatement hearing.

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5. My DUI occurred ten or twenty or thirty years ago.  Do I still have to go through the formal reinstatement process or can I just pay a fee to reinstate my driver's license?

At the law offices of John W. Callahan, Ltd., we see many clients who have had DUI's from ten, twenty or thirty years ago that are posing a problem with their license being clear in the state of Illinois.  While there are several states, including New York, for example, that will allow a client to just simply pay a reinstatement fee after several years of not having any new DUI's, Illinois is not one of them.  If there is a DUI conviction in the state of Illinois that is on the Illinois driving abstract, that client will either need to go through an informal hearing or a formal administrative hearing process to reinstate their driver's license.

At John W. Callahan, Ltd., we have the experience need to represent the client whether that client was out-of-state or in-state to reinstate the license and get them back up and driving.  Should you wish to contact us, you should contact us at the number immediately so that we can begin the process to get your license back.

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6. Can I use any evaluator or treatment provider outside the State of Illinois?

At the law offices of John W. Callahan, Ltd., we have used several evaluators and treatment providers to aid our clients in obtaining their driver's license.  What we have typically found is that while any counselor and treatment provider is eligible to be used for any client at a formal license reinstatement hearing, what we have found is that those who are out of state typically do not know the exact and specific requirements for the clients who need to reinstate their license inside the state of Illinois.

After doing numerous hearings, we have found a few evaluators and treatment providers who we believe understand the needs of the Secretary of State and provide credible and truthful reports to the Secretary of State.  When a client does not have an evaluator or treatment provider, we will typically try to refer him to those who we find to be the most efficient and truthful and thus helpful to our clients.  While we can work with others and do work with others, if the client has not obtained an evaluation or does not have a treatment provider, we can refer them to those whom we know will do a great job for the client.

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