BRB's Public Records Blog

Heads-up: Idaho Driver and Vehicle Record Fees to Increase

Effective January 1, 2010, the fees for driver-related records and vehicle-related records from the Idaho Transportation Department will increase by $3.00 per record. This is regardless of access method.
We will present specifics next month.

Many DMV Record Fees to Increase in Florida

Effective September 1, a number of driver licensing and motor vehicle services fees will change. Some increases are significant. Below are the increased fees associated with record access.
Driving Records - Fees are increasing for both the electronic and non-electronic versions. For non-electronic, the fee for a 3-year driver history increases from $2.10 to $8.00 and the fee for a 7-year or certified or complete record increases from $3.10 to $10.00. In general for electronic accessed records, the fee for a 3-year record increases from $3.05 to $8.05, and the fee for a 7-year record increases from $3.05 to $10.05. Note that online requesters are directed to a "Network Provider" who are ongoing requesters with 5,000 or more records per month. Service fees will vary by provider.

Crash Reports - The fee for a crash or accident report increases from $2.00 to $10.00. the fee for a homicide-involved crash report remains the same at $25.00.

Vehicle Records - The Florida Real Time Vehicle Info System fee increases from $.50 to $1.25 per inquiry.

Note that the vehicle registration fees will increase approximately 30% overall as well. A complete list of all fee increases, showing both old and new fees, is found at www.flhsmv.gov/MotoristFees.htm

The above article appeared in the August Issue of the Public Record Update newsletter. To sign-up for this free monthly newsletter visit http://www.brbpub.com/articles.aspx

Check out a VIN (Vehicle Identification Number) for Fraud

The National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) provides a free and valuable online service known as VINCheck. The service assists the public in determining if a vehicle has been reported stolen but not recovered, or if a vehicle has been reported as a salvage vehicle to one of the cooperating NICB members. All that is needed to search is the VIN - the Vehicle Identification Number. Searching is not unlimited as VINCheck allows each user no more than 5 free searches within a 24-hour period. 
Visit https://www.nicb.org/cps/rde/xchg/nicb/hs.xsl/vincheck.html.

© excerpt from The Sourcebook to Public Record Information

New Jersey Increases Motor Vehicle Fees

The New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission Board recently approved a number of fee increases affecting various motor vehicle related transactions and processes. Fees increased for CDL permits, motorcycle registrations, vehicle titles, lien releases, and record access, among other areas. Specifically, motor vehicle records fees will increase effective July 6, 2009.

Driving record fees affected include the mail or walk-in driver record which increases from $10.00 to $15.00, and the electronic record which increases from $10.00 to $12.00. All vehicle record abstracts such as lien searches or registration and title records obtained by mail or in-person will increase to $15.00 per record. The electronic access of vehicle related records will increase to $12.00 per record. The previous fees for vehicle records vary from $4.00 to $10.50.

As of yet, the NJ Motor Vehicle Commission has not issued an official announcement with a complete list of all the new fees. However, the proposed amendment with all fee increase explanations is found on a 12-page document at www.state.nj.us/mvc/About/rulemaking.htm. Click on the 02/18/09 Proposed Rule Amendments link.

 

Fee Increase for Vermont Driving Records

Effective July 1, 2009, a $1.00 fee increase will take place for accessing certain Vermont driving records. The fee for an electronic accessed record will increase from $13.00 to $14.00. The fee for a manually accessed three-year record will increase from $10.00 to $11.00. The fee for a complete record or certified record remains the same at $16.00. The fees for access to title and registration records remain the same.

Areas where other fees increases will take place include issuance of driver licenses, exams, issuance of vehicle title and liens, and issuance of truck registrations based on weight. To view a list (partial), visit http://dmv.vermont.gov/

South Dakota Driving Record Fee to Increase

Per legislation, the fee for a South Dakota driving record will increase from $4.00 to $5.00 on July 1, 2009. This fee increase affects both online accessible and manually processed driving records. Additional mandated fee increases affect driver licensing and vehicle registration, but do not affect other record fees. The fee for an accident report remains at $4.00. For example, the fee for VIN, plate, owner, title, or lien searches remains at $2.00 per record or $5.00 for a complete title history from microfilm.

Jurisdiction Alert

1. Harrison County Mississippi

On the 18th of February 2009 the Harrison County Circuit Clerk shut down the public access system for researchers. The clerk (Ms Gayle Parker, 228-865-4051) advises that the system will be down until 1 June 2009. Please expect delays on record research.

Reportedly, this shut down is for main maintenance, but it is believed that the court may be also redacting identifiers, including DOBs, from the public record.

Thanks to Mr. Jim Smith from Pro-Tech Investigations for this tip.

2. California State Offices

Beginning February 6, 2009 the DMV and many other state offices, will close the first and third Friday of each month. This closure is meant to help address the state's deficit of $42 billion.

3.  Maine – Cumberland County Courts – Criminal Record Search

In Maine, the District Courts handle misdemeanors and the Superior Courts handle felonies. Recently, one of Cumberland County’s three District Courts merged its criminal record division with the county’s Superior Court. Records from Portland District Court - South 9 were merged with the Superior Court criminal record database. The new court is designated as the Unified Court.  A criminal record search at the Unified Court will include a search of both courts. This merger does not affect civil or probate records held by the Portland District Court. Note the two other District Courts in Cumberland County (Bridgton District Court North 9 and Bath District Court East 6) each have a separate record database. Therefore, for a complete countywide criminal record search with misdemeanors, all three courts must be searched.

Thanks to Nils Nelson of Main Public Record Services for the heads up on this!

4.  Indiana Counties and New Online System
A handful of Indiana courts are now displaying their indices on an open access system, known as Odyssey, via the Internet. The combined courts in Monroe County were the first in the state to go online with Odyssey, and it has been a less than stellar success. Conversations with a few deputy clerks and judges' clerks have confirmed that in the transition from one computer network (available in the clerk's office or by online paid subscription) to the Odyssey open network, cases were "lost" and other data were missing. Also, certain identifying information beyond the name was the address at the time of charging; we all know the limitations with that. After protests wide and large from the legal community, the DOB has reappeared with the defendant's name and address on criminal case chronologies, now known as "case registries." However, the missing cases and other data transfer problems remain.  You can note the courts available through Odyssey at http://mycase.in.gov/   Courtesy of PRRN Member Don Johnson, Trace Investigations, Inc.

NH Looks to Increase Fees for Driving Records

 
A bill recently introduced in the New Hampshire Legislation would increase the cost of a driving record from $8.00 to $15.00 for paper copies, and from $8.00 to $14.00 for electronic copies.  Interestingly, the language in HB 540 states "The department may issue a copy of any motor vehicle record upon the request of an insurance company or any other authorized agent, and notwithstanding RSA 91-A shall require payment by the insurance company or authorized agent of a fee of [$8] $14 for email or other computer-generated requests where payment is debited against an account established with the department, or $15 for all other requests..."

While New Hampshire is known to be very restrictive in regards to motor vehicle record access, it does permit employers, such as trucking companies, record access under the proper circumstances and with consent. Yet the bill only specifically mentions insurance companies and their agents. There is a question of what the other permissible requesters would pay for a record. Also, the NH DMV currently sells a ten-year certified for $10, yet this record was not addressed by the legislation.

MA Registry of Motor Vehicles Looks to Increase Record Fees

The Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles recently announced its intention to increase a number of license, registration, and record fees.
The fee for a certified copy of license, registration or title information would increase from $10 to $20. The fee for the complete or partial file of registration and licensing data would increase from $2,500 to $7,500.

A copy of driving record (paper) would increase from $15 to $20. A copy of an accident report would increase from $10 to $20 as would a certified or attested copy of any record. Passenger vehicle registration, certificate of title, and driver license issuance fees all are looking at 20 to 45% increases.

The public is invited to register comments on the fee revisions at a hearing on March 16 in the State Transportation Building, 2nd Floor, Conference Room 2-3 at 10:00am.
See www.mass.gov/rmv/rmvnews/2009/RMV_Fees_022309.htm for more information and a complete list of the proposed fee increases. 

Oregon's Driver Monitoring Program

Oregon’s Automated Reporting Service (ARS) Program allows users who have a Record Inquiry Account to submit a name list and DMV will automatically produce a printed driving record whenever a conviction, accident or suspension is posted to the record. There is always a $3.00 fee whenever a record is produced. The maintenance of adding or deleting drivers can be done free of charge via Oregon’s online DMV service. If adding or deleting names is done by the DMV, there is a $2.00 fee per name. For more information about ARS, call 503-945-5427.

 
© excerpt from The 2009 MVR