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The federal Driver Privacy Protection Act restricts disclosure and use of personal information from state motor-vehicle records.
Direct answer
What to use for driving record background check
The federal Driver Privacy Protection Act restricts disclosure and use of personal information from state motor-vehicle records. USA.gov provides a state and territory selector for motor-vehicle services; it is a navigation route to the relevant state agency.
Important
A background check is not one universal record
Separate the driving record. Keep the motor-vehicle record separate from criminal-history and court records. Driving history answers a different question from criminal-history or court records.
Route
Official sources that can answer different questions
| Need | Official source | What it can establish |
|---|---|---|
| Your own motor-vehicle record. | Licensing state’s DMV; find it through USAGov. | Choose the agency’s personal driving-record request, the reporting period and the copy type your recipient needs. |
| Someone else’s driving record. | State DMV’s authorized third-party request. | Identify a permitted purpose and any consent or authorization required before requesting protected personal information. |
| Certified proof. | Issuing DMV’s certified-copy route. | A personal online view/print service may differ from the certified product. California, for example, directs certified own-record requests to mailed form INF 1125. |
For another person’s record, first state the lawful use and follow the holding state’s release form. The DPPA includes specified insurance and commercial-driver employment uses and a written-consent route; it is not blanket permission for curiosity searches. Do not claim a purpose that does not apply, and do not reuse or redistribute protected information outside the permitted use.
California is one example, not a nationwide form: INF 70 requires the requester’s contact information, the subject’s name plus license/ID number or date of birth, the permissible purpose and a signed certification. Its automated record fee is $5 per record. Your own California online request instead needs MyDMV, payment and a device to save/print; it costs $2 per record. Other states set their own inputs, fees and delivery methods.
Before ordering, confirm the issuing state, the exact driving-record product, certification requirement, fee per record and delivery method. Check which event types and years the product reports. For example, California generally reports ordinary collisions for three years, but qualifying commercial/hazardous-material collisions for ten; this is not a rule for other states or every entry type. An absent older entry is not proof that the event never occurred.
Review the record against your identifiers and the event details. For an error, use the issuing DMV’s correction process and obtain supporting court or crash documents. California’s DL 207 is for traffic violations/convictions and requires appropriate court support; it is not the accident-correction form. Keep the request, response and any corrected version together.
Check
What to verify before treating the result as complete
- Verify the person. Verify the subject before requesting a copy or combining records: compare middle name, age or birth date, jurisdiction, and event timing so identity uncertainty stays visible.
- Read the access route. Read the agency’s current request instructions before assuming a record can be downloaded. Access method is part of the record route and can change independently of the record itself.
Related Record Guides
Sources
Authoritative next stops
Official federal directory; United States
USAGov - State motor vehicle services
Directory only: state/territory selector to reach motor-vehicle services.
United States
Official federal statutory source; United States
U.S. Code - Driver Privacy Protection Act
18 U.S.C. Chapter 123 restricts disclosure and use of personal information from state motor-vehicle records.
United States
Official state DMV example
California DMV - Driver’s Record Request
State-specific example of personal online and certified-copy routes, fees and reporting periods.
Current official procedure, limited to the agency and record type identified in the passage.
Official state form example
California DMV - INF 70
Illustrative third-party request fields, permissible-use certification and automated-record fee.
Current official procedure, limited to the agency and record type identified in the passage.
Official state form example
California DMV - DL 207
Illustrative traffic-violation/conviction correction process and required court support.
Current official procedure, limited to the agency and record type identified in the passage.
Official federal statutory source
U.S. Code - 18 USC 2721
Permitted uses, written-consent route and redisclosure limits for protected DMV personal information.
Current official procedure, limited to the agency and record type identified in the passage.