Do I Need a Five-Year Permit After my DUI?

The five-year permit only applies to persons with two or more DUI convictions who reside in the State of Illinois. There are exceptions to having to maintain a five-year permit.

On January 1, 2016, the five-year BAIID law took effect which requires all Petitioners who have been convicted of a second or subsequent DUI to drive continuously on a BAIID permit for a period of five years prior to requesting reinstatement of their driving privileges.

It is important to note at the outset of this article that Petitioners are not subject to the five-year permit if they received court supervision on their first DUI and their sole conviction resulted from a second DUI arrest. Petitioners falling within this category are still subject to a one-year probationary period if a permit is granted in lieu of reinstatement.

For Petitioners who are revoked after having received two DUI convictions, the five-year BAIID permit requires installation of a BAIID device on all vehicles owned by them and mandates that they continuously drive with the BAIID in their vehicle for at least five years prior to requesting reinstatement. 625 ILCS 5/205(h)

In short, even if a Petitioner is technically eligible for full reinstatement, they must drive for a five-year period with the BAIID installed prior to requesting their full driving privileges again.

This law has few, but some notable exceptions.

First, if a Petitioner is an out-of-state resident and is otherwise eligible for full reinstatement, they are not subject to the five-year BAIID permit if they show valid proof of out-of-state residency and are approved at their hearing for reinstatement/full clearance of their driving privileges.

Second, as noted earlier, the Petitioner must have two DUI convictions. If a Petitioner received supervision on any DUI, the DUI(s) in which supervision was granted do not count for purposes of determining eligibility for the five-year BAIID permit.

Further, if a Petitioner was already “in the system” at that time this law took effect on January 1, 2016, they are not subject to the five-year BAIID permit unless if they are denied at a subsequent hearing and have had two convictions. This typically applies in cases where a Petitioner was already driving on a hardship permit at the time the law took effect and cannot request reinstatement until the hardship period has expired.

Finally, although five-year BAIID permit Petitioners must maintain the interlock device in any vehicle owned by them (including joint ownership), they are eligible to request an exemption to drive employer-owned vehicles without the BAIID device installed if one-year has elapsed since the date of revocation or if they have driven on a Restricted Driving permit with a BAIID device for at least one year. 625 ILCS 5/6-205(d)(5)

As all cases are different, this should not be construed as legal advice. Any Petitioner seeking guidance on whether the five-year BAIID permit applies to their case is welcome to contact our office for a free consultation by calling 312.461.0400.