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Johanna

How do you know if a DL is valid?

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Situation- adult stepson got pulled over and got his DL suspended for driving a car with no insurance. Got pulled over again two weeks later in one of our trucks, and the Ohio Trooper informed him that his DL was suspended because of the first charge, which is still pending in court. The very nice trooper did not impound our truck and he didn't charge me with "wrongful entrustment", which he could have done. We took the keys away and told him not to drive anything of ours. Neither case has been to court yet. Now he claims he has a valid license because he paid a reinstatement fee and he wants our permission to drive. He has a license in his wallet, but we don't know if it's valid. How do I check (am I allowed to check?) to see if he has driving privileges in Ohio? I don't want to give him keys (the truck is in MY name!) if he's lying to me, and I can't tell if he is or not. Is there any way of finding out for sure? Would the sheriff's office be able to confirm he's okay to drive or not? I want to give him the truck so he can go to WORK which he sorely needs to do. But I don't want to get in trouble.

Johanna

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I don't know about Ohio but here in Kansas you should be able to call the state dept that is responsible for drivers license and check the status of his license. In Ks that is the dept of revenue. You may be able to walk in to the local law enforcement and have his drivers license ran like you would for getting new insurance or for a job. I know we do that all the time but there is a fee involved. We call it an MVR. He would have to do this, make him do it before you give him the keys to one of your vehicles.

Good luck with this one.

Randy

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Try this: http://www.bmv.ohio.gov/pdf_forms/bmv2150.pdf

"...If you have not had a driver license cancelled, denied, revoked, or suspended or have not been convicted of serious traffic violations, you would not be listed in the NDR. Every individual is entitled, however, to request a check of the NDR records to determine whether or not they appear on the NDR file...."

Looks like the stepson would have to file the request.

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Jo, I'm guessing that if he got pulled over twice in two weeks, he ain't driving that well. How about a nice shiny 10 speed?

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If you get one ticket here, the state doesn't take your license. If you get a second ticket before you go to court on the first ticket, no one knows about it. When you go to court you are fined and your license are still good unless you have racked up too many points. IF your license are taken, it normally takes several weeks to get them back through the state. If it hasn't been a very long time between the first ticket and him having a "valid" license, they probably aren't. I would check to see if his current license is his old license that was returned to him or if it is a new one that has been "re-issued". If re-issued, probably fake. Let him walk for a while and he will appreciate his driving privilege a little more (maybe). How old is he? :eusa_naughty:

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Well, I checked with the authorities, and they said they couldn't tell me anything, but that I should NOT give him any keys until he accompanies me to the BMV in person and PROVES his license is okay. (Call his bluff, maybe?) His license was suspended for driving a car that had no insurance on it, and Ohio doesn't play around with uninsured drivers. After he gets to court, he will likely lose his driving privileges for a year (he may get work driving privileges IF he has a job then!) and he will pay a higher rate of insurance when it's over. This is after he pays all fines, court costs, reinstatement fees and visits one of the 5 BMVs in Ohio that are able to "unsuspend" DLs. I guess I kinda knew he was not being honest with us, and I'm very disappointed in him. I turned the matter over to his dad after I was advised not to entrust him with one of my cars. :(

Johanna

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Sorry, Johanna. Kids. No matter how bad you may want to, you can't put 'em back where you found 'em. I've heard Ohio is pretty rough on enforcement. In Texas, you just have to get your insurance in order. Usually for first offenses on anything except DUI or theft, you can have the charge dropped if you take a driver's education class. I lived in NY for a few years and they had a huge scam going on traffic tickets. If you got an attorney, he could plead anything except DUI down to a non-moving violation - like 'bad muffler". If the speeding ticket would have been $100, then the non-moving ticket would be at least that much, plus the attorney fee. But it did keep you from racking up points and kept the insurance from going up. (In fact, you may want to talk to an attorney before going into court, just in case he can get a break.)

I have a neighbor kid that stole money. When he was caught, he denied that he stole it. The officer said, "Son, we know you stole the $80." "No, no," the kid insisted, "it was only $60."

If ignorance is bliss, he's one happy kid!

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Johanna,

I happen to be a Driver's License Examiner in Montana. I would recommend contacting your Department of Motor Vehicles office and ask what the process is to find out about his license. If you get someone nice like me, it is not a bad experience. Ask for a supervisor to ask them questions. With name and date of birth I can check anyone in the nation for driving status. Just because the reinstatement fee was paid does not mean he has a good license. They may have said he has to retest. Here you have to wait until the department clears it from the system. Then you also have to pay the fee for the license also. Driving is a privilege not a right.

Hope all of this helps.

Joe

Edited by rcsaddles

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