I have an Illinois drivers license.  Why is it recognized in Indiana?  Is it by mutual agreement, like CCW reciprocity, or is due to Full Faith and Credit, or something like that?

constitution

Pretty much.



Note that although you have an Illinois license, it is your responsibility to be familiar with the laws of other states in which you drive.



 

"Ignorance is no excuse!"  

You can drive in Australia with it too

constitutional right to travel and full faith and credit clause.

The real question is "why doesnt IL recognize a CDL earned in another state even though the license is set by federal standards"

(Im talking about moving permanent residence and getting a new DL, not just driving through the state)

Which means my handgun carry permit should be too, right?

Constitutional.  Moreover, all but maybe Texas are part of a compact dealing with the issuance of drivers licenses.  Had a deceased boss whose wife always carried a Texas license in case she got stopped.

So then why does a a foreign license (Mexico, Canada) work in the US?

You may be thinking of the Drivers License Compact.  It's a system whereby an infraction in another state goes back to the license in your home state, including points, etc.  It's convenient in that you can pay the fine in your home state (good when traveling).

My WAG would be reciprocity between countries negotiated by agreement.  


 

No...that would mean you shouldn't need a handgun carry permit at all, in any state.





 

Some states do honor Constitutional Carry (AK, AZ, VT.)

I am constantly told that states recognize other DLs not due to the Full Faith clause, but because the states do so on their own with the aforementioned pact, so how could the Feds make a state recognize a foreign DL?

International treaties.

Because they want your tourism money.



 

The Vienna and Geneva Conventions on Road Traffic cover that.  That's international treaty, and it makes more sense.

What I don't get about the driver's license situation is that, if I move to Indiana, I need to get an Indiana Driver's License within a few months, even if my expiration date isn't until years in the future.  Why don't people need to get remarried when they move across state lines?  Or get their names re-changed?  The Full Faith and Credit clause definitely covers name changes and marriages.  If it covers Driver's Licenses too, why doesn't my license stay valid after I move?

Cause they want your money. Like "use" tax in place of sales ax on vehicle you've owned for years in another state but due to a relocation are now obligated to change the title/plates/registration and pay "use' tax at the applicable sales tax rate for your location.  It's pretty simple, if theres a fee to collect, (without starting a revolution such as marriage & name changes would) the States will be collecting a fee from you.

I travel a lot for work lately. Out of state for 6 months of 2010 in 3 month segments. My DL is valid til 2013, however I havent lived in that State in 4 years. My vehicles are registered there as well and I have NO plans to change any of that. I renew my tabs either via mail or in person if I'm traveling through. Someday I'll get it all squared up but in theory I should have changed my Drivers License and vehicle registration on at least one of my vehicles 3 times last year and again next month when I move back home, assuming I dont find a job somewhere else soon. Thats a lot of fees and "use" tax.

the "Drivers License Agreement" which is a interstate compact, I believe and carries enforcement through the "Drivers License Compact".

Not all states are members of the non-resident violators compact.

The States have entered into compacts among themselves to recognize each others "driver's licenses".

The citation from the  Constitution is Article 1 Section 10, last paragraph; " No State shall, without the consent of Congress, .....enter into any Agreement or Compact with another State, or foreign power, ... ".

In other words, the States DO NOT HAVE the authority to recognize each others DL's (even though they do so), any more than they have the authority to demand a DL from a private Citizen in the first place. Commercial DL's are issued as an appropriate exercise of State power over commerce.

Congress muddies the issue by offering to the States federal monies for various DOT projects, and when a state volunteers to  accept that federal funding it places  the various State's DOT under federal authority.

Clear as mud.