BRB's Public Records Blog

DC Increases Fees for Electronic Driving Records

Effective July 1, 2008, the Washington DC Department of Motor vehicles is making two significant changes to the fee structure for obtaining electronic driving records.

The fee will increase from $7.00 to $13.00 per record. This fee is not mandated by new legislation, but instead by a "correction." The driving record fees in DC are $7.00 for a three-year record or $10.00 for a ten-year or complete record. The electronic access fee has been $7.00 per record. However, the DMV has stated it has "discovered an error in our billing system" because it has been dispensing ten-year records online for the price of the three-year record. So the DMV will increase the fee accordingly.  Secondly, the annual fee charged to electronic access requesters will increase from $100 per year to $3,600 per year.

For questions, contact the Gabriel Robinson, the Service Integrity Officer, at 202-727-2200.

Judge Stops MO Motor Vehicle Record Fee Increase

A state judge ordered the MO Dept of Revenue to stop charging the $7 fee for driver license and motor vehicle records.  It was the judge's opinion the fee hike violated the the state Sunshine Law.  A hearing is set for June 20.

Motor Vehicle Record Fee Problems in Missouri

Effective May 1st, the state of Missouri increased the access fee to obtain a copy of a driving record or a vehicle record from $1.25 to $7.00 per record. While this is a major increase, it does place the state in the normal fee range when compared to the rest of the nation (the national average is just above $6.50). The additional funds are earmarked for upgrading outdated technology. However, the Missouri Department Revenue is also implementing the same new fee for a different type of record access – the purchase of records in bulk or database format. The nationwide norm of fees for bulk access of vehicle records is between $.02 and $.04 per record. The states charging the highest fees – Arizona and California – are selling in bulk at about $.10 per record. However, Mr. Omar Davis, Director of the Department of Revenue, has increased the Missouri fee for bulk records from several cents a record to a nationwide high fee of $7.00 per record, an exorbitant increase of nearly 17500%. This fee increase affects entities that provide information for vehicle owners about vehicle recalls and for consumers checking vehicle history, such as if a vehicle was a salvage vehicle, flooded, rebuilt, or to see if an odometer was rolled back. Showing an apparent lack of knowledge by his advisors or researchers about record purchase and usage, Mr. Davis actually testified before a Missouri Legislative Committee that the fee increase for bulk records placed Missouri in the national norm. If the $7.00 bulk fee stays in place, these types of record uses in Missouri will become cost prohibitive and Missouri will most likely become a dumping ground for problem vehicles. At present, several lawsuits have been filed by nationwide vendors against the Missouri Department of Revenue to stop the fee increase. The lawsuits argue that the fee increase violates the set limits on what the government can charge for records. Earlier this year, a similar situation occurred in Washington, DC where the administration’s lack of knowledge of the difference between batch inquiry and bulk sales nearly shut access to driving records in that jurisdiction. Fortunately, the DC administrators modified their policies before a shut-down occurred. One hopes that logical thinking will take place in the Show Me state as well.

Missouri House Rejects Driver Record Increase Fee

The Missouri House of Representatives overwhelming defeated the bill containing an increase to $7 for driver records.  The Senate previously passed a different version of the bill.  The Senate must approve the House bill or the two groups need to compromise by the end of legislation session.

Controversy Regarding Missouri’s Increase for Driving Records

Missouri recently raised their fees for driver license and motor vehicle records from $1.25 to $7 per record.  Members of the state legislature, press and other groups are challenging the increase.  The fees were increased to cover the cost of a new 50 million computer system.  The system is being designed by BearingPoint who will receive $1 out of each $7 fee.

The state's Department of Revenue Director Omar Davis has reportedly stated the records "weren't public records" and opted to bypassed the legislature and Sunshine Laws when raising the fee.

Click here for more information.

Free DL Status Check in Idaho

Another newsworthy record access item in Idaho is the new free Driver License Status Check. Requesters input the name including middle initial, DOB and either the DL# or the SSN. The system reports if the license is commercial or non-commercial, and if the license is valid. The web page also allows suspended drivers to reinstate, if eligible.

This is a great monitoring system for employers, insurance companies, and even car rental companies.

Visit https://www.accessidaho.org/secure/itd/reinstatement/index.html

Fee Increase for Electronic Access to Idaho Motor Vehicle Records

Effective May 1, 2008, Access Idaho, the web portal that provides the gateway to driving records and vehicle records, is raising access fees. The fee for a driving record will increase from $5.50 to $6.00. The fee for a vehicle title or registration record will increase from $5.50 to $6.00 as well. Access Idaho also provides online access to the UCC index, but those fees will remain the same.

All users must be pre-approved to have access to these premium services. For more information about Access Idaho's premium services, visit www.accessidaho.org/subscriber/.

Also pending is a fee increase from $5.50 to $6.24 that Idaho drivers pay to receive their own driving record online. Use of a credit card is required for this service.

Missouri to Increase Fees for All Motor Vehicle Records

The Missouri Department of Revenue announced this week sweeping changes to it's motor vehicle (driving and vehicle) record access. Effective May 1st, the new fee will be $7.00. This is across the board and affects online access as well as mail requests and counter service.

At this time the DOR is setting up conferences with existing users to explain the new program. Information is not yet available on the web. For detailed information, it is suggested to contact your record vendor.

Changes to West Virginia Driving Record Access and Fees

Effective February 1, 2008, electronic access of West Virginia driving records will be through a designated third party - West Virginia Interactive LLC (WVI). WVI, a state affiliate of NIC Inc. (www.nicusa.com), will build and manage the official state government web site and associated eGovernment services at www.wv.gov. Existing online requesters for driving records are in the process of moving to the new system.

The driving record fee will increase from $5.00 per record to $8.00 per record. The service will be an on interactive basis with monthly billing.  Also, service through WVI will require a $100.00 subscription fee that permits 10 users per account. WVI will add additional online portals to other WV information to access future online record services provided by WVI . All driving record requesters must complete three agreement documents necessary for account approval: the Monthly Account Holder Agreement; the WV DPPA Agreement; and the Application and Agreement for Official Driver License Data Access from West Virginia. Eventually these forms will be available on the web, but to obtain them now or for more information please call WVI at 304-414-0265.

The fee for onsite or mail-in driving record requests remains at $5.00 per record. If a driver's license number is not submitted with the request, then the Social Security Number must be submitted and the fee is $6.00. The fees are the same if a certified record is requested. If no consent is presented, no records are released; however, the DMV permits the requester to use the "Message Forwarding Service" that enables the DMV to forward a request to the license holder to approve the record request. The Message Forwarding Service fee is $5.00 per record.

Homeland Security Releases Real ID Grant Guidelines

The Homeland Security Department released grant guidelines to assist states applying for $35 million to begin implementing Real ID requirements for handling personal information associated with driver’s licenses. 

The Real ID Act prohibits the federal government from accepting state-issues driver’s licenses or identification cards for any federal purpose (e.g. accessing federal facilities, boarding federally regulated commercial aircraft, etc.) unless the state meets standards to be developed by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).  The Act required states to be in compliance by May 11, 2008, and calls for non-compliant licenses and IDs to be clearly identified as such.  (Copyrighted excerpt from The MVR Book)