My License Was Suspended How Do I Get It Back

[LuckOthaIrish]

My question involves a driver's license issued by the State of: Missouri/Minnesota

I have run into a crazy stupid set of events so please bear with me. I received a ticket a while back and at the time the ticket was due to be paid I was unemployed and therefore couldn't pay it. I tried calling the courthouse on the 3rd because the ticket was due on the 8th (or so I thought) in order to work out a payment arrangement. I was then informed that my court date was actually on the 3rd (a couple hours prior to my call) and I had missed it (due to the police officer's terrible handwriting) and therefore would be required to write a letter to the judge to work out a payment option. I wrote two letters, with enclosed copies of the citation, with no response. Now, come to find out, when I tried to get a job as a delivery man I was informed that my license has been suspended due to non-payment. Now I just moved to missouri and I had received a letter from collections about the amount I owed from the judgement. I also just had my wallet stolen and don't have my missouri driver's license yet because of the suspension. The only forms of I.D. I have are my clipped MO license from the last time I lived down here, my expired temporary papers (from getting my MN license) and my birth certificate, & ss card. I just got a job and plan on buying a car so I will obviously need my license back. So here's the million dollar question/questions. By paying the bill I received from collections will that reinstate my license or do I have to pay other fees? And... if I only have my old clipped MO license how do I get a new license? Will they accept the expired papers with my MN license number on them? My biggest thing is I have no way of getting back to MN and so I'm hoping that I don't have to do that to get this stuff taken care of.

[mmmagique]

Call the court in MN. No one here can answer that for you. (I don't think!)

[PTPD22]

By paying the bill I received from collections will that reinstate my license or do I have to pay other fees?

Paying the collection company is only the first step (and, I'm betting that they are demanding quite a bit more than the fine you would have originally paid to the court). After you pay them, you will need to show proof of that payment to the court and petition the court to change the your status from "failure to pay" to "paid."...and there may well be some additional court costs to take care of before that happens. Then, after you get paperwork from the court showing that you are no longer in default, you have to take that paperwork to the Minnesota DOL (or whatever abbreviation they use in Minn.) and apply to have your license reinstated...and, again, there will probably be fees. THEN, after you are reinstated in Minn., you can go to the MO DOL (or whatever abbreviation they use in MO) and apply for a MO license...and pay the required fees.

It is really quite a bit cheaper to take care of these things rather than wait to try to fix them when they catch up to ya, aint it?

And... if I only have my old clipped MO license how do I get a new license? Will they accept the expired papers with my MN license number on them?

All you need at either MN or MO DOL is proof of identity. They may take either your clipped or temporary licenses. If not, your birth certificate should work.

My biggest thing is I have no way of getting back to MN and so I'm hoping that I don't have to do that to get this stuff taken care of.

The court stuff can probably be handled by telephone and/or mail...but, it is likely to be much more time consuming than being there in person. You might be able to handle the DOL stuff by telephone/mail/internet also...but I wouldn't bet on it. If I were you, I'd make arrangements to get back to MN for a few days. Even if everything can be taken care of long distance, it will almost certainly be a very time consuming, frustrating exercise doing that way.