Information Available in Driving Records

Driving records are held by each state’s Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) or Department of Public Safety (DPS) offices. Begin your search for driving records by visiting the government sites associated with your particular state and clicking on either of these departments.

Although driving records are considered public information, they are still protected by privacy laws. Each state’s privacy laws vary, but most of the time you will need to prove who you are and why you are asking for the records before performing a search. You may be required to show a picture ID, which should be photocopied if you order DMV records by mail or through a government website. You will also need the written consent of the person whose records are being requested.

There is a certain process you must follow in order to request driving records from your state’s department of motor vehicles. First, of course, you must fill out a form. In most states, you must know the driver license number of the person before you are allowed to search DMV records. The form must also include the name and address of the driver, date of birth, and other identifying information. If the person requesting the record is not the person named in the record, the applicant must supply identifying information as well.

Once the form is filled out properly, it must be submitted with a fee to the proper address. This address can be found by searching the DMV or DPS pages of your state’s government website. These offices are only open certain days and hours, and mail requests may take two weeks to process.

Information Found in Driving Records

The information contained in a driving record will vary from state to state, but in general you can expect to see details of all tickets you have received and any accidents which occurred in that specific state. Accident statements will include the date of the accident, the names of all the drivers involved, a description of the vehicles, and details about the accident such as road conditions and extenuating circumstances.

The driving record may contain personally identifying information such as birthday, height, weight, eye color, and gender. It will also detail convictions, so a person may have been arrested in connection with a driving offense but if they weren’t convicted it will not show up on the record.

Who Might be Interested in Seeing a Driving Record

There are a number of reasons to request driving records. First, a person may want to check their record if their insurance rates are high or if they have been denied insurance. Most traffic offenses disappear from the driving record after a certain period of time. If the insurance company is using information older than three years (five years in some cases) then that information should be ignored under certain circumstances.

If you are hiring a caregiver, nanny or a babysitter who may drive your children or other relatives anywhere, you may want to check his or her driving record before employing them. Many employers request driving records before agreeing to hire you, and insurance companies will always request a driving record before issuing a permanent policy.