For individuals who do not have a Pennsylvania driver’s license, you need to be very careful when you receive a DUI in the state of Pennsylvania. If you are convicted of a DUI in Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania cannot suspend your out of state license but what they will do is suspend your driving privileges in the state of Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation will send you your suspension information telling you to turn PA your driver license into them. Since you do not have a PA license you need to fill out a PennDOT form that says, “I acknowledge my suspension in the state of Pennsylvania” and state on that form that you are not licensed in Pennsylvania. You will then send this form into PennDOT instead to your driver’s license. PennDOT will hold on to that form until your suspension is up. You will also have to pay a restoration fee and complete any other requirements that are in the suspension information that PennDOT sent to you. Once everything is complete PennDOT will restore your driving privileges in the state of Pennsylvania.
The big catch here is if the state where your license is issued from finds out about the suspension in the state of Pennsylvania through reciprocity. If your home state has reciprocity with PA your home state would be made aware of the PA suspension and they could also suspend your license. Pennsylvania can only suspend you in the state of Pennsylvania. The state that issued you your license can suspend your license for an offense that you committed in the state of Pennsylvania. The length of that suspension is dependent on the laws in that particular state. Your license could be suspended for the same amount of time as Pennsylvania or they could actually suspend you for a longer period of time depending on their laws.