Illinois · Written examWhat’s in the Illinois Rules of the Road?
The 2026 edition has 13 chapters:
- Illinois Driver’s License: ages, documents, renewal, fees and online services
- Driver’s License Exams: vision, written and driving
- Drivers Under Age 21: the instruction permit, driver education and the Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) program
- Traffic Laws: stops, phones, belts, speed, right of way, passing, turns and parking
- Sharing the Road: pedestrians, motorcycles, bicycles, large and slow vehicles
- Driving Under the Influence (DUI)
- Traffic Violations/Crashes
- Driver’s License Revocation, Suspension, Denial and Cancellation
- Roadway Signs
- Traffic Signals and Pavement Markings
- Safe Driving Tips
- Equipment For Safe Driving
- Owning a Vehicle: titles, plates, insurance and emissions testing
After the chapters come the answers to the study questions, an index, the license classes and the Acceptable Identification Documents chart.
The study questions and answers
Chapters 3 to 12 each end with study questions, 86 in all: six in eight of the chapters, 10 in Safe Driving Tips and 28 in Traffic Laws. They’re true-or-false or multiple choice, and the answer list on page 100 gives the page to read for each one.
Reading it the right way
The handbook condenses and paraphrases the Illinois Compiled Statutes, so it doesn’t cover every law or every situation, and it says it shouldn’t be cited as legal authority in court. It also includes highway safety information that isn’t in the law.
Two pages at the back show the Acceptable Identification Documents chart, in a September 2023 version and a February 2025 version. The handbook’s text points to the February 2025 one, on page 106.
Other Illinois handbooks
The Rules of the Road is for the basic Class D license. For other vehicles and readers, it names these:
- The Illinois Motorcycle Operator Manual, for motorcycles
- The Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) Study Guide and the Rules of the Road for Non-CDL Vehicles, for larger vehicles
- The Parent-Teen Driving Guide, for parents teaching a teen
- The DUI Fact Book, for the details of DUI law
- The Illinois Bicycle Rules of the Road, for cyclists
The handbook says the motorcycle, CDL and non-CDL manuals are at any SOS facility or on ilsos.gov.
Sources: Illinois Secretary of State. Checked November 2026.
Rules and fees can change, so check the official site before your test.
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