In Pennsylvania, no person may drive any motor vehicle upon a highway or public property without a driver's license valid under the PA Motor Vehicle Code. Pennsylvania MVC chapter 15 explains that public property includes, but is not limited to, driveways and parking lots owned or leased by the Commonwealth or an agency thereof.

Title 75 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes Section 1543 is titled Driving while operating privilege is suspended or revoked and states in part that any person who drives a motor vehicle on any highway or traffic way of this Commonwealth after the commencement of a suspension, revocation or cancellation of the operating privilege and before the operating privilege has been restored is guilty of a summary offense and shall, upon conviction, be sentenced to pay a fine of $200.

Subsection b though gives information on harsher penalties that are in place, a fine of $500 and imprisonment for a period of not less than 60 days nor more than 90 days, if you are found driving when your license was suspended or revoked due to certain violations. These violations include violations relating to driving under influence of alcohol or controlled substance, relating to suspension for refusal, and those offenses relating to Drivers License Compact.

This subsection goes on to say if you are found with a certain amount of alcohol in your system when you are found to be driving on a suspended license your penalties will be even harsher. Upon a first conviction of this the driver can be found guilty of a summary offense and shall be sentenced to pay a fine of $1,000 and to undergo imprisonment for a period of not less than 90 days.

You can read PA VC Section 1543 to find out more and see if your situation is addressed specifically or would fall into the penalties we have already listed.

Under Title 75 Section 6503 it notes that a mandatory fine of not less than $200 nor more than $1,000, or imprisonment for not more than 6 months, or both, will be imposed for a 2nd or subsequent offense for driving while operating privileges are suspended or revoked.

The penalties for showing a license or permit that is not valid when stopped for a violation include being fined, assessed 3 points for a "violation concerning the license" and possibly receiving jail time.

So depending upon what was going on when you were ticketed for driving with a suspended license your penalty can range include imprisonment. Also driving with a revoked or suspended license or a second or additional offense of driving without a valid license within a 5 year period will result in your Pennsylvania driving privileges being suspended or revoked for a lengthier period of time.

In Maryland you could also face jail time for driving with a suspended driver's license. MD Code section 27-101 notes the penalties for driving with a suspended license in Maryland and both mention jail time and fines.

If you are caught driving after your license has been suspended or revoked in MD, you can face a maximum jail term of 1 year and a fine of $1,000. Points will also be assessed which will be 3 or 12 depending upon the reasons behind the suspension. You can read about this under section 16-303 of the Maryland Transportation Code.

If you have been cited in either Pennsylvania or Maryland for driving with a suspended license you should contact the courts listed on your tickets and may want to see if you will need legal counsel to go with to court.

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