Release of DMV Information

DMV is keenly aware of its responsibility to ensure that the information it maintains is used only for the purposes authorized by law.

The release of information from the Department of Motor Vehicles is governed by the Federal Driver's Privacy Protection Act (18 USC §§2721-2725) and by Va. Code §§46.2-208 through 214. Current Virginia statutes are even more restrictive than the requirements of the Federal Driver’s Privacy Protection Act.

Virginia statutes stipulate that all DMV records are privileged and are not available to the general public. DMV may only release driver, vehicle and personal information from our records under the conditions specified in the statutes mentioned above.

Driver records have always been privileged information and cannot be released in most cases without the data subject’s written consent. Exceptions to the consent requirement are made for law enforcement, other government entities, insurance companies, rental car companies and employers in cases where the employee or potential employee holds a Commercial Driver's License (CDL).

Vehicle records were made privileged records by the 1994 General Assembly. This change means that the general public no longer has access to the information contained in these records. Like driver records, vehicle files can be released only under very strict statutory conditions.

Personal information includes all information that describes or locates an individual. Name, address and social security number are considered personal information. Personal information can be released only to law enforcement, government entities and business entities which are attempting to locate an individual in order to pursue a remedy against them, such as repossessing a vehicle.

Virginia statutes do not permit DMV to release name and address information for marketing purposes. Therefore, there is no need for you to request that your information on DMV records be restricted from release.