To get an unrestricted Illinois driver’s license, you need to read 20/40 or better with both eyes together and show a peripheral field of at least 140 degrees. Those are the core Illinois driver’s license vision test requirements, set in 92 Ill. Admin. Code 1030.70, and you can meet the acuity mark with or without glasses or contacts. If your vision falls short of 20/40, you aren’t automatically turned away. Illinois recognizes intermediate tiers that allow restricted driving, and a specialist evaluation path is open to anyone who doesn’t pass the in-office screening.1Legal Information Institute. Illinois Administrative Code Title 92 Section 1030.70 – Driver’s License Testing/Vision Screening
Acuity Thresholds and What Each Tier Allows
The 20/40 line is not a hard pass-fail cutoff. It sorts drivers into three tiers.
Hit 20/40 or better binocularly without correction, and you get a standard license. Hit it only while wearing glasses or contacts, and you get the same license with a corrective-lens restriction, meaning you must wear them every time you drive.
Fall between 20/41 and 20/70 binocularly and you can still be licensed, but only for daylight driving. If corrective lenses are what get you into that range, both restrictions appear on the license.
Anything worse than 20/70 binocular means a standard license cannot be issued at the counter. You’ll need a specialist evaluation before the state can license you.2Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Administrative Code Section 1030.70 – Driver’s License Testing/Vision Screening
Peripheral Vision Requirement
Alongside acuity, you must show a total peripheral field of at least 140 degrees with both eyes open. Drivers who qualify using only one eye face a monocular standard: 70 degrees temporal (toward the ear) and 35 degrees nasal (toward the nose), with at least 70 degrees of continuous vision measured from the fixation point in that eye. Qualifying monocularly triggers a restriction requiring both left and right outside rearview mirrors on any vehicle you drive.1Legal Information Institute. Illinois Administrative Code Title 92 Section 1030.70 – Driver’s License Testing/Vision Screening
If it’s unclear whether you meet the monocular peripheral minimum, the state will accept either the results of a computerized vision test confirming you meet the requirement or a driving evaluation from a certified driver rehabilitation specialist finding you safe to operate a vehicle.2Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Administrative Code Section 1030.70 – Driver’s License Testing/Vision Screening
The Eye-by-Eye Check
The screening tests each eye individually as well as both together. If either eye reads 20/100 or worse, corrected or not, Illinois adds the outside rearview mirror restriction. This can happen even when your binocular reading is fine, because one eye is significantly weaker than the other. Drivers who have lost vision in one eye entirely can still qualify as long as the functioning eye meets the acuity and peripheral thresholds; the mirror restriction applies, and the state may require periodic specialist reports.1Legal Information Institute. Illinois Administrative Code Title 92 Section 1030.70 – Driver’s License Testing/Vision Screening
What the Test Looks Like
The screening happens at the counter on a machine you lean into, similar to a binocular-style viewer. Inside are lines of letters or shapes that get progressively smaller. The examiner asks you to read them with both eyes and then each eye alone. A peripheral component follows, with lights or indicators appearing at the edges of your field. It takes under five minutes, and results go straight into the licensing system, so you’ll know immediately whether you passed, qualified with restrictions, or need a specialist report.
No color vision test is required for a standard passenger license in Illinois. That requirement applies only to commercial drivers under federal rules.
Bring Your Glasses or Contacts
If you use corrective lenses, wear them to the test. Showing up without them means being tested without them, and if your uncorrected vision doesn’t reach 20/40, you’ll either walk out with a daylight-only restriction you didn’t need or fail outright. Tell the examiner before you look into the viewer if you’re wearing contacts, so the result is recorded accurately. Passing with contacts still triggers the corrective-lens restriction; Illinois doesn’t distinguish between glasses and contacts for that purpose.1Legal Information Institute. Illinois Administrative Code Title 92 Section 1030.70 – Driver’s License Testing/Vision Screening
If You Don’t Pass: The Vision Specialist Report
The next step is Form DSD X 20, the Vision Specialist Report. You can download it from the Secretary of State’s website or pick one up at any Driver Services location. Take it to a licensed optometrist or ophthalmologist for a comprehensive exam.3Illinois Secretary of State. Illinois Vision Specialist Report – Form DSD X 20
The specialist has to record corrected and uncorrected acuity for each eye individually and both together, your total peripheral field (plus temporal and nasal readings per eye if the total is under 140 degrees), and confirmation that any corrective lenses were checked and approved. They also flag whether the condition is deteriorating, and if so, recommend a re-examination interval of 3, 6, or 12 months, or another timeframe.
The form must carry the specialist’s original signature (stamped signatures aren’t accepted) and their professional license number. One detail worth planning around: the report is valid for only six months from the exam date. Wait longer, and you’ll need a fresh exam.3Illinois Secretary of State. Illinois Vision Specialist Report – Form DSD X 20
Return the completed DSD X 20 to any Driver Services Facility. Staff check the specialist’s numbers against the code thresholds. If they clear, your license is issued, possibly with restrictions based on what the specialist documented. If the specialist flagged a deteriorating condition, the state may require follow-up reports on the recommended schedule; missing a follow-up can result in your driving privileges being canceled until a new report is filed.
The Restriction Codes on Your License
When your vision qualifies you to drive but only under conditions, a letter code prints on the license itself. The three vision-related codes are:
- Type B, corrective lenses. You passed acuity only while wearing glasses or contacts and must wear them whenever you drive.
- Type F, outside rearview mirrors. Required when either eye reads 20/100 or worse, when you can’t meet the peripheral requirement binocularly, or when you’re hearing impaired. Your vehicle must have both left and right outside mirrors.
- Type G, daylight only. Your binocular acuity fell between 20/41 and 20/70, or you’re using a non-standard lens arrangement like telescopic lenses.
Driving in violation of a printed restriction is a citable offense and can lead to suspension. If your vision improves, say after LASIK, you can return to a Driver Services Facility, pass the screening without correction, and have the Type B restriction removed.
Bioptic Telescopic Lenses
Illinois allows driving with prescription spectacle-mounted telescopic lenses, but the requirements are tighter than standard correction. For a daylight-only license using telescopic lenses, all of the following must be true:
- 20/100 or better in both eyes through the carrier (non-magnifying) portion of the lenses.
- 20/40 or better in both eyes through the telescopic portion.
- At least 140 degrees binocular peripheral field, or 70 degrees temporal and 35 degrees nasal monocular.
- You’ve had the telescopic lens arrangement for at least 60 days before applying.
- The telescopic lenses don’t exceed 3.0X wide angle or 2.2X standard.
Nighttime privileges with telescopic lenses require a separate process: hold a valid daylight-only license and drive with the lenses in daylight for at least 12 months, keep a clean record with no at-fault nighttime accidents in that period, submit a new Vision Specialist Report, and pass a road exam given at night.6Illinois Secretary of State. Medical and Vision Conditions
Commercial Licenses Are a Different Standard
These Illinois rules cover passenger-vehicle licensing. If you drive commercially, the federal standard administered by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is stricter: at least 20/40 in each eye individually (not just both together) and a field of at least 70 degrees in the horizontal meridian in each eye.7Regulations.gov. Qualifications of Drivers – Vision Standard A CDL applicant who can’t meet the standard in the worse eye may qualify under an alternative pathway involving Form MCSA-5871 and annual medical examiner review.8Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Vision Evaluation Report, Form MCSA-5871
If You’re Denied and Disagree
You can request an administrative hearing through the Secretary of State’s Administrative Hearings Department if you believe a vision-based denial or restriction is wrong. At the hearing you may present medical evidence, updated specialist reports, test results, and physician testimony. If the hearing doesn’t go your way, you can generally appeal to circuit court. In practice, though, if your vision has changed through surgery, new lenses, or treatment, bringing a fresh DSD X 20 with passing numbers is almost always faster and cheaper than pursuing a hearing, and will typically get you licensed without one.