Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes

75 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 1581 (2026)

Driver's License Compact.

✓ current as of May 2026

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SUBCHAPTER D

DRIVER'S LICENSE COMPACT

Sec.

1581. Driver's License Compact.

1582. Definitions.

1583. Compensation of compact administrator.

1584. Furnishing of information to other states.

1585. Actions of courts and other agencies.

1586. Duties of department.

Enactment. Subchapter D was added December 10, 1996, P.L.925, No.149, effective immediately unless otherwise noted.

Cross References. Subchapter D is referred to in section 3804 of this title.

§ 1581. Driver's License Compact.

The Driver's License Compact is hereby enacted into law and entered into with all other jurisdictions legally joining therein in the form substantially as follows:

Article I

Findings and Declaration of Policy

(a) The party states find that:

(1) The safety of their streets and highways is materially affected by the degree of compliance with State and local ordinances relating to the operation of motor vehicles.

(2) Violation of such a law or ordinance is evidence that the violator engages in conduct which is likely to endanger the safety of persons and property.

(3) The continuance in force of a license to drive is predicated upon compliance with laws and ordinances relating to the operation of motor vehicles, in whichever jurisdiction the vehicle is operated.

(b) It is the policy of each of the party states to:

(1) Promote compliance with the laws, ordinances and administrative rules and regulations relating to the operation of motor vehicles by their operators in each of the jurisdictions where such operators drive motor vehicles.

(2) Make the reciprocal recognition of licenses to drive and eligibility therefor more just and equitable by considering the overall compliance with motor vehicle laws, ordinances and administrative rules and regulations as a condition precedent to the continuance or issuance of any license by reason of which the licensee is authorized or permitted to operate a motor vehicle in any of the party states.

Article II

Definitions

As used in this compact:

(a) "State" means a state, territory or possession of the United States, the District of Columbia or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

(b) "Home state" means the state which has issued and has the power to suspend or revoke the use of the license or permit to operate a motor vehicle.

(c) "Conviction" means a conviction of any offense related to the use or operation of a motor vehicle which is prohibited by state law, municipal ordinance or administrative rule or regulation or a forfeiture of bail, bond or other security deposited to secure appearance by a person charged with having committed any such offense and which conviction or forfeiture is required to be reported to the licensing authority.

Article III

Reports of Conviction

The licensing authority of a party state shall report each conviction of a person from another party state occurring within its jurisdiction to the licensing authority of the home state of the licensee. Such report shall clearly identify the person convicted, describe the violation specifying the section of the statute, code or ordinance violated, identify the court in which action was taken, indicate whether a plea of guilty or not guilty was entered or the conviction was a result of the forfeiture of bail, bond or other security and shall include any special findings made in connection therewith.

Article IV

Effect of Conviction

(a) The licensing authority in the home state, for the purposes of suspension, revocation or limitation of the license to operate a motor vehicle, shall give the same effect to the conduct reported, pursuant to Article III of this compact, as it would if such conduct had occurred in the home state in the case of convictions for:

(1) manslaughter or negligent homicide resulting from the operation of a motor vehicle;

(2) driving a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or a narcotic drug or under the influence of any other drug to a degree which renders the driver incapable of safely driving a motor vehicle;

(3) any felony in the commission of which a motor vehicle is used; or

(4) failure to stop and render aid in the event of a motor vehicle accident resulting in the death or personal injury of another.

(b) As to other convictions, reported pursuant to Article III, the licensing authority in the home state shall give such effect to the conduct as is provided by the laws of the home state.

(c) If the laws of a party state do not provide for offenses or violations denominated or described in precisely the words employed in subdivision (a) of this article, such party state shall construe the denominations and descriptions appearing in subdivision (a) of this article as being applicable to and identifying those offenses or violations of a substantially similar nature and the laws of such party state shall contain such provisions as may be necessary to ensure that full force and effect is given to this article.

Article V

Applications for New Licenses

Upon application for a license to drive, the licensing authority in a party state shall ascertain whether the applicant has ever held or is the holder of a license to drive issued by any other party state. The licensing authority in the state where application is made shall not issue a license to drive to the applicant if:

(1) The applicant has held such a license, but the same has been suspended by reason, in whole or in part, of a violation and if such suspension period has not terminated.

(2) The applicant has held such a license, but the same has been revoked by reason, in whole or in part, of a violation and if such revocation has not terminated, except that after the expiration of one year from the date the license was revoked such person may make application for a new license if permitted by law. The licensing authority may refuse to issue a license to any such applicant if, after investigation, the licensing authority determines that it will not be safe to grant to such person the privilege of driving a motor vehicle on the public highways.

(3) The applicant is the holder of a license to drive issued by another party state and currently in force unless the applicant surrenders such license.

Article VI

Applicability of Other Laws

Except as expressly required by provisions of this compact, nothing contained herein shall be construed to affect the right of any party state to apply any of its other laws relating to licenses to drive to any person or circumstance, nor to invalidate or prevent any driver license agreement or other cooperative arrangement between a party state and a nonparty state.

Article VII

Compact Administrator and Interchange of Information

(a) The head of the licensing authority of each party state shall be the administrator of this compact for his state. The administrators, acting jointly, shall have the power to formulate all necessary and proper procedures for the exchange of information under this compact.

(b) The administrator of each party state shall furnish to the administrator of each other party state any information or documents reasonably necessary to facilitate the administration of this compact.

Article VIII

Entry into Force and Withdrawal

(a) This compact shall enter into force and become effective as to any state when it has enacted the same into law.

(b) Any party state may withdraw from this compact by enacting a statute repealing the same, but no such withdrawal shall take effect until six months after the executive head of the withdrawing state has given notice of the withdrawal to the executive heads of all other party states. No withdrawal shall affect the validity or applicability by the licensing authorities of states remaining party to the compact of any report of conviction occurring prior to the withdrawal.

Article IX

Construction and Severability

This compact shall be liberally construed so as to effectuate the purposes thereof. The provisions of this compact shall be severable, and if any phrase, clause, sentence or provision of this compact is declared to be contrary to the constitution of any party state or of the United States or the applicability thereof to any government, agency, person or circumstance is held invalid, the validity of the remainder of this compact and the applicability thereof to any government, agency, person or circumstance shall not be affected thereby. If this compact shall be held contrary to the constitution of any state party thereto, the compact shall remain in full force and effect as to the remaining states and in full force and effect as to the state affected as to all severable matters.

Effective Date. Section 10 of Act 149 of 1996 provided that, in recognition of the technical and administrative limitations under which the Department of Transportation is currently operating, the effective date of section 1581 Art. IV(b) shall be suspended until the repeal of section 10. Section 11(2) of Act 149 provided that the addition of section 1581 Art. IV(b) shall take effect on the date of the repeal of section 10 of Act 149.

Cross References. Section 1581 is referred to in sections 1532, 1543, 3804 of this title.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 167 cases (2 in the last 5 years), 1997–2021 · leading case: Wroblewski v. Commonwealth, 809 A.2d 247 (Pa. 2002).

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Wroblewski v. Commonwealth, 809 A.2d 247 (Pa. 2002). · cites it 12× “In this appeal, we address the validity of a driver license suspension under the Driver's License Compact ("Compact"), 75 Pa. C.S. § 1581, and the effect of the legislature's passage of 75 Pa.”

Gallant v. Commonwealth, Dep't of Transp., 805 A.2d 1 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2002). · cites it 20× “§ 3731 (relating to driving under the influence of alcohol) and the Pennsylvania Driver License Compact (Compact), [1] 75 Pa.C.S. § 1581, as a result of his Illinois conviction.”

Harrington v. Commonwealth, 763 A.2d 386 (Pa. 2000). · cites it 9× “*390 In its subsequent opinion, the common pleas court indicated that the report of conviction from New Jersey failed to comply with the Compact's reporting requirements, 75 Pa.C.S. § 1581 (Article III), by virtue of the failure to identify the convicting court, [6] and the…”

Siekierda v. Com., Dept. of Transp., 860 A.2d 76 (Pa. 2004). · cites it 8× “75 Pa.C.S. § 1581 (Art. III). Article IV delineates the home state's responsibility upon receipt of a report of a qualifying conviction pursuant to Article III, as follows: Effect of Conviction.”

Scott v. Com., Bureau of Driver Licensing, 790 A.2d 291 (Pa. 2002). · cites it 9× “75 Pa.C.S. § 1581, art. III. Under Pennsylvania’s Vehicle Code, PennDOT must suspend for one year the operating privilege of a driver upon receiving a certified record of the driver’s conviction for violating Pennsylvania’s driving under the influence (“DUI”) statute or a…”

Sullivan v. Com. Dept. of Transp., 708 A.2d 481 (Pa. 1998). · cites it 5× “That section sets forth the full text of the Compact and provides that, “[t]he Driver’s License Compact is hereby enacted into law and entered into with all other jurisdictions legally joining therein----” 75 Pa.C.S. § 1581 (emphasis added). Had the Compact been enacted into law…”

Com., Dept. of Transp. v. McCafferty, 758 A.2d 1155 (Pa. 2000). · cites it 4× “The Compact, which is incorporated into the Motor Vehicle Code at 75 Pa.C.S. § 1581, provides in pertinent part: Article II Definitions As used in this compact: * * * * * * (c) "Conviction" means a conviction of any offense related to the use or operation of a motor vehicle…”

Kovalesky v. Commonwealth, Dep't of Transp., Bureau of Driver Licensing, 850 A.2d 26 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2004). · cites it 14× “§§ 1532(b)(3), [1] and Article IV(a)(2) of the Driver's License Compact (Compact), 75 Pa.C.S. § 1581. [2] Numerous issues were *28 raised on appeal.”

Squire v. Commonwealth, Dep't of Transp., Bureau of Driver Licensing, 769 A.2d 1224 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2001). · cites it 10× “[1] On March 15, 1999, New York's licensing authority reported the conviction to Pennsylvania's Department of Transportation (Department) pursuant to Article III of the Driver License Compact, 75 Pa.C.S. § 1581. As a party to the Compact, Pennsylvania treated Squire's New York…”

Hoenisch v. Com., Dept. of Transp., 785 A.2d 969 (Pa. 2001). · cites it 6× “capable of safely driving a motor vehicle; * * * (c) If the laws of a party state do not provide for offenses or violations denominated or described in precisely the words employed in subdivision (a) of this article, such party state shall construe the denominations and…”

Crytzer v. Commonwealth, Dep't of Transp., Bureau of Driver Licensing, 770 A.2d 820 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2001). · cites it 8× “193 , is not substantially similar to Article IV(a)(2) of the Driver's License Compact (Compact), 75 Pa.C.S. § 1581, Art. IV(a)(2). I Crytzer was cited on February 14, 1999 for being in control of a vehicle with a blood alcohol level of 0.”

Lueth v. Commonwealth, Dep't of Transp., 785 A.2d 133 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2001). · cites it 10× “§ 1532(b)(3) [5] and 75 Pa.C.S. § 1581. Thereafter, the Department notified Appellant that his license was suspended for one year pursuant to the Compact, because it was treating his Maryland DWI notification as a conviction for violating Section 3731(a) of the Code, 75 Pa.”

Show all 167 citing cases →

— 75 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 1581(a) — 2 cases

Ellis v. Commonwealth, Dep't of Transp., Bureau of Driver Licensing, 732 A.2d 1290 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 1999).

PennDOT v. Troisi, 38 Pa. D. & C.4th 403 (1998).

— 75 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 1581(a)(2) — 2 cases

Hunt v. Commonwealth, Dep't of Transp., Bureau of Driver Licensing, 750 A.2d 922 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2000).

Ester v. Commonwealth, Dep't of Transp., Bureau of Driver Licensing, 756 A.2d 84 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2000).

— 75 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 1581(b)(1) — 1 case

Gies v. Commonwealth, Dep't of Transp., Bureau of Driver Licensing, 770 A.2d 799 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2001).

— 75 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 1581(b)(2) — 1 case

Schuetz v. Commonwealth, Dep't of Transp., 753 A.2d 915 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2000).

— 75 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 1581(c) — 3 cases

Folsom v. Com., Dept. of Trans., 771 A.2d 118 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2001).

Smega v. Commonwealth, Dep't of Transp., Bureau of Driver Licensing, 727 A.2d 154 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 1999).

Snyder v. PennDOT, 38 Pa. D. & C.4th 504 (1998).

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