In PA, if you left your drivers' license at you house and got pulled over, do you have 24 hours to produce it?

Question

I heard that a new law was passed that said that if you don't have your driver's license present at the time of being pulled over, there is a huge fine. Is this true?

Answer 1

The officer can, and probably will, still ticket you at the time of the offense.  

The charge would stick, regardless of your ability to produce the license at a later date, the charge is failure to produce a license.  Usually, the judge will go lighter on someone that produces a license on or before their court date ... with an apology to the court for committing the offense (be humble, be polite, grovelling would not hurt.).

As offenses go, this one ain't the end of the world, I mean, it isn't like you were driving at 20+ MPH over the limit in a residential zone!

I keep this from happening by keeping my license in my wallet.  If I'm driving anywhere I'm sure to need something from my wallet ... so I check my back pocket as I'm walking to the car.

Answer 2

no

Answer 3

Fat chance

Answer 4

From the link provided by radio:

§ 1511. Carrying and exhibiting driver's license on demand.

(a) General rule.--Every licensee shall possess a driver's license issued to the licensee at all times

when driving a motor vehicle and shall exhibit the license upon demand by a police officer, and when

requested by the police officer the licensee shall write the licensee's name in the presence of the

officer in order to provide identity.

You can avoid CONVICTION by producing the license within 15 days, but you are still REQUIRED to carry the license with you when driving.  And, NO this is NOT a new law.  It has been on the books for some time.

Answer 5

So I was really interested in this question, and though it took me 20 minutes to find the answer, I finally found it!

According to Pennsylvania law, you have 15 DAYS to produce a driver's license that was valid at the time you were stopped (you must bring it to the department where the officer who stopped you is assigned).  Read through the PDF file linked below (it's in section 1511 - 'Carrying and exhibiting driver's license on demand').

I've read and re-read it, and it's definitely 15 days - more than enough time to take your license to the police station and clear things up!

Answer 6

i think its 48 hours