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Driving records and lookups

Driving records and lookups

  • Bulk information sales don't include customer phone numbers or email addresses, and data cannot be used for marketing or solicitation purposes. MDOS checks compliance on all sales and violations can be prosecuted as felony infractions.

    Many purchasers are universities, research organizations, and other governments that use the large dataset for research purposes. The Michigan Department of State is authorized by the state Legislature to sell limited customer data to reduce the need for tax revenue.

  • Contact the Record Sales Unit at ListSales@Michigan.gov.

  • Review the following resources for instructions:

    How to Read the Michigan Vehicle Record

    How to Read the Michigan Driving Record

  • Personal information in driving and vehicle records is protected under The Driver Privacy Protection Act (DPPA). It is a federal law designed to protect the personal information of licensed drivers from improper use or disclosure. 

    Under DPPA, all states are required to safeguard personal information in driving and vehicle records. Care must be taken in how the information for these requests are submitted because the records are retrieved by exactly matching the names and addresses as they were provided. 

    If you don’t have permission to access personal information in a record, it will be redacted or concealed in any records you do request. 

  • The Driver Privacy Protection Act (DPPA) is a federal law designed to protect the personal information of licensed drivers from improper use or disclosure.

    Under DPPA, all states are required to safeguard personal information in driving and vehicle records.

    DPPA also makes it illegal to obtain record information for unlawful purposes or to make false representations to obtain such information.

  • Contact the Record Sales Unit at CommercialServices@Michigan.gov.

  • To receive information about vehicle owners or vehicle registration and title histories, you must meet the requirements under the Driver Privacy Protection Act (DPPA) and have a valid, permissible purpose to request the record information.

    The following reasons are permissible reasons to obtain driver and vehicle information:

    • For use by a federal, state, or local governmental agency, including a court or law enforcement agency, in carrying out the agency’s functions, or by a private person or entity acting on behalf of a government agency in carrying out the agency’s functions.
    • For use in connection with matters of motor vehicle, watercraft, snowmobile, or off-road recreational vehicle (ORV) and driver or operator safety or auto, watercraft, snowmobile, or ORV theft; motor vehicle, watercraft, snowmobile, or ORV emissions; motor vehicle, watercraft, snowmobile, or ORV product alterations, recalls, or advisories; performance monitoring of motor vehicles, watercraft, snowmobiles, or ORVs; motor vehicle, watercraft, snowmobile, or ORV market research activities, including survey research; and the removal of nonowner records from the original records of motor vehicle, watercraft, snowmobile, or ORV manufacturers.
    • For use in the normal course of business by a legitimate business, including the agents, employees, and contractors of the business, but only to verify the accuracy of personal information submitted by an individual to the business or its agents, employees, contractors, and if the information as so submitted is no longer correct, to obtain the correct information, for the sole purpose of preventing fraud by pursuing legal remedies against, or recovering a debt against, the individual.
    • For use in connection with a civil, criminal, administrative, or arbitration proceeding in a federal, state, or local court or governmental agency or before a self-regulatory body, including use for service of process, investigation in anticipation of litigation, and the execution of enforcement of judgments and orders, or pursuant to an order of a federal, state, or local court, an administrative agency, or a self-regulatory body.
    • For use in legitimate research activities and in preparing statistical reports for commercial, scholarly, or academic purposes by a bona fide research organization, if the personal information is not published, re-disclosed, or used to contact individuals.
    • For use by an insurer or insurance support organization, or by a self-insured entity, or its agents, employees, or contractors, in connection with claims investigating activity, antifraud activity, rating, or underwriting.
    • For use in providing notice to the owner of an abandoned, towed, or impounded vehicle, watercraft, snowmobile, or ORV.
    • For use either by a private detective or private investigator licensed under the Private Detective License Act of 1965, as amended (1965 PA 285; MCL 338.821 to 338.851), or by a private security guard agency or alarm system contractor licensed under the Private Security Guard Act of 1968, as amended (1968 PA 330; MCL 338.1051 to 338.1085), only for another permissible purpose listed here.
    • For use by an employer, or the employer's agent or insurer, to obtain or verify information relating either to the holder of a commercial driver's license that is required under federal law or to the holder of a chauffeur's license that is required under Chapter 3 of the Michigan Vehicle Code.
    • For use by a watercraft, snowmobile, ORV, or car rental business, or its employees, agents, contractors, or service firms, for the purpose of making rental decisions.
    • For use in connection with the operation of private toll transportation facilities.
    • For use by a news medium in the preparation and dissemination of a report related in part or in whole to the operation of a motor vehicle or public safety.
    • For any use by an individual requesting information pertaining to himself or herself or requesting in writing that the Secretary of State provide information pertaining to himself or herself to the individual's designee. A request for disclosure to a designee, however, may be submitted only by the individual.

    DPPA also makes it illegal to obtain record information for unlawful purposes or to make false representations in order to obtain such information.

    Vehicle record

    Business and agency records