MVRs

If you have been looking for companies to help you with a broad range of employment screening needs, you may have noticed that there are quite a few vendors offering criminal background checks — but that driving records are much harder to find. There are a number of legal and economic reasons for this, but the most significant is the Driver’s Privacy Protection Act. Passed in 1994, the law was a response to the murder of actress Rebecca Schaeffer. Her attacker had obtained her home address from the California Department of Motor Vehicles indirectly, through a private investigator. During debate on the bill, a number of stories recounted the ease with which a stalker could get home addresses based only a license plate, which is visible to anyone. The law passed, survived legal challenges that went up to the Supreme Count, and has since been updated with further protections. Many states, including California, have restrictions that are even more severe but the DPPA is the minimum they must all meet.

According to the DPPA only the following uses of personal motor vehicle record information are permitted:

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