According to the Illinois Secretary of State (SOS) site it notes that the driver of the vehicle, as well as all passengers in the vehicle, can be ticketed if the driver is in violation of the passenger restriction rule.

In Illinois during the permit stage of the graduated drivers licensing (GDL) system the number of passengers limited to one in the front seat and the number of safety belts in the back seat. At the next stage, the initial licensing stage, there are more passenger restrictions.

For the first year of licensing, or until the driver is age 18, whichever occurs first, the number of passengers is limited to one person under age 20, unless the additional passenger(s) is a sibling, step-sibling, child, or step-child of the driver. After this period, the number of passengers is limited to one in the front seat and the number of safety belts in the back seat.

The state of Illinois put in these conditions since passenger restrictions reduce the likelihood of a young, inexperienced driver being distracted by a car full of teens. Since 2008 the passenger limitation time was extended from 6 months to a full year, or until the license holder turns 18, whichever occurs first.

In IL a driver must remain free of traffic convictions during the entire nine-month permit phase. If the driver is convicted of a traffic offense during this time, he/she will not move to the initial licensing phase until he/she is free of traffic convictions for a full nine months or until age 18, whichever occurs first. If the conviction is received by the Secretary of State's office after the driver has moved to the initial licensing phase, the driver will be remanded back to the permit phase. A letter will be sent to the driver and the parents indicating the change in driving status.

Drivers in the initial licensing phase (usually drivers ages 16 and 17), must remain conviction free for the final six months before moving to the next phase. If a new driver receives a conviction during this six-month period, he/she will not be able to move to the next phase of the program until he/she is conviction-free for a full six months or until age 21, whichever occurs first.

We contacted the IL Office of the Secretary of State to see if they could give us any more information on the penalties for breaking your passenger restriction or other restrictions of your license type. Their response was that the IL SOS does not assign fines due to traffic violations.

What they did say is a lot of what we had already mentioned, such as for the first year of licensing, or until the driver is age 18, whichever occurs first, the number of passengers is limited to one person under age 20, unless the additional passenger(s) is a sibling, step-sibling, child, or step-child of the driver. After this period, the number of passengers is limited to one in the front seat and the number of safety belts in the back seat. A ticket for exceeding the passenger limitation will not cause points to be assigned to the driving record, however may extend restrictions beyond age 18.

The IL SOS office is only responsible for accepting reports of conviction from the courts, maintaining records and taking appropriate action in accordance with the Illinois Vehicle Code. To find out your fine amount and court costs for a passenger restriction citation they advised that you contact the court listed on your citation directly. Some states have their fine schedules online but we could not find one for IL so contacting the court would be the best way to figure out the total fine amount.

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