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What happens if I am caught driving out of state without a license?

What will happen if the police catch me driving around without my driver's license in a different state? I promised my little sister that I would drive her to her summer internship in L.A. and I cannot find my license anywhere. I know it has to be in the house and it will turn up eventually. The drive from PA to CA is pretty long—what happens if I get pulled over along the way?

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Shannon Martin · Updated on
Reviewed by Shannon Martin, Licensed Insurance Agent.
“Every state is different when it comes to
driving without your license
in the car, but one thing they have in common is that they all consider it a violation.
In some states you may be issued a warning or a minor ticket; in others it may be a hefty fine. It will be completely up to the police officers’ discretion. It is a very real possibility that your car will get impounded until they have proof that you are driving legally.
In Pennsylvania, you can apply for a duplicate driver’s license through the mail. However, it can take ten days for the request to be processed before sending out a new one. Your best course of action is to enlist the help of your family and search the house for your license. If you can’t find it, get a new one from the DMV in person.
In the future, you may want to download the
Jerry
app. The app has a wallet feature that allows you to download pictures and documents and save them for future reference. This makes it a great place to store a picture of your driver’s license if you ever need it in the future.”
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Jerry partners with more than 50 insurance companies, but our content is independently researched, written, and fact-checked by our team of editors and agents. We aren’t paid for reviews or other content.

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