As important as having a driver’s license is to most people, in Pennsylvania driving is a privilege not a right and that privilege can be taken away for several reasons. Among the reasons someone might lose their driver’s license is because they have gotten too many points on their record, they have received a medical suspension, they failed to pay fines imposed by a court, or they received a suspension associated with a criminal conviction.
Pennsylvania takes a hard stance against people who are caught driving with a suspended license. If your license is suspended for anything other than a DUI and you are caught driving, you can be charged under section 1543(a) of the Vehicle Code for “Driving Under Suspension”. Like many driver’s license related offenses, the more convictions for driving under suspension you have the more serious the punishments become.
- For a 1st offense, this is a summary traffic offense, which will result in a $200 fine AND an additional license suspension.
- If this is your 2nd, 3rd, 4th, or 5th offense, you will face a fine between $200 and $1000 AND a possible jail sentence of up to 6 months AND an additional license suspension.
- If you are facing a 6th or subsequent offense there is a fine of $1000 AND a jail sentence of at least 30 days but not more than 6 months AND an additional license suspension.