Driver's Privacy Protection Act of 1994

Citation: Driver’s Privacy Protection Act of 1994, 18 U.S.C. §§ 2721-25.

Congress passed the Driver’s Privacy Protection Act of 1994 (DPPA) as an amendment to the Omnibus Crime Act of 1994. The Act prohibits state departments of motor vehicles (DMVs) and others to whom the DMVs provide information from disclosing a driver’s personal information without the driver’s consent. DMVs that violate the Act are subject to civil penalties.

Personal information contained in a motor vehicle record may be disclosed for use by any government agency, including any court or law enforcement agency, in carrying out its functions, or to any private person or entity acting on behalf of a Federal, State, or local agency; and for use in connection with any civil, criminal, administrative, or arbitral proceeding in any Federal, State, or local court or agency or before any self-regulatory body, or pursuant to a Federal, State, or local court order.

In 2000, the Act was amended to create a new class of "highly restricted personal information." This includes an individual's photograph or image, social security number, and medical or disability information. This information may not be shared without the express consent of the person to whom the information applies, except for four purposes stated in the Act.

The driver’s information that the DPPA regulates is used by insurers, marketers, and others engaged in interstate commerce to contact drivers with customized solicitations, and therefore this information in this context constitutes “an article of commerce” subject to regulation under the Commerce Clause.

In 2000, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld that constitutionality of the Act in Reno v. Condon.