What Happens If You Get In An Accident Without A License?

Getting into a car accident without your license has consequences that range from minor to severe. It all depends on the reason why you were driving without the license. If you simply forgot it at home, you'll more than likely receive a citation. If you're driving without it because you had your license suspended or revoked, this is more serious and may result in jail time.

How to deal with getting into an accident without your license

As bad as getting into an accident without your license seems, it actually is two separate things: car accident and driving without your license.

If the other driver is at-fault for the accident, you not having your license doesn't change that fact. Rest assured, you handle the car accident as you normally would:

• pull over safely and contact 911
• exchange information and gather any evidence
• file a police report

Driving without your license is an easy-fix or something that holds more serious penalties depending on why you were driving without the license.

This may be harder to fix, and affects many aspects of your life.

Penalties for driving without a license

Keep in mind, that driving without a license is illegal in all 50 states.  But deciding the penalty for driving without a license boils down to one thing: the reason why you didn't have it on you.

Here are the most common reasons and their respective penalties:

1. Simply forgot it. If you have simply forgot it at home or work before getting in the car, chances are a citation is issued that may require you to pay a fine.
2. You forgot to renew your license. We get it, sometimes life gets so busy you forget to renew your expired license. Like above, a citation is issued that may require you to pay a fine.
3. Your license is suspended or revoked. This is the most serious reason of the three that holds the most severe consequences. When your license has been suspended or revoked, that means that you were legally barred from driving a vehicle. Willfully disobeying the law and driving anyway is a serious offense and therefore you're cited, arrested, and face possible jail time on top of a hefty fine.

Check with your state to see the penalties associated without driving with a license as each state has different laws.  

What happens next?

While the situation might seem daunting now, as with everything, time eventually eases the severity.

With car accidents, they stay on your driving record for 3 years. So, if you stay accident free within that time frame, your record goes back to normal. With a license suspension or revocation, this stays on your record for 10 years. Yes, a long time, but not permanent.

The important thing is to move forward and make sure that you have adequate insurance in case you do find yourself a part of another accident.

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