§ 1327.5 - Conditions for becoming a participating State.

§ 1327.5 Conditions for becoming a participating State.

(a) Reporting requirements.

(1) The chief driver licensing official in each participating State shall transmit to the NDR a report regarding any individual -

(i) Who is denied a motor vehicle operator's license by such State for cause;

(ii) Whose motor vehicle operator's license is canceled, revoked, or suspended by such State for cause; or

(iii) Who is convicted under the laws of such State of the following motor vehicle-related offenses or comparable offenses -

(A) Operation of a motor vehicle while under the influence of, or impaired by, alcohol or a controlled substance;

(B) A traffic violation arising in connection with a fatal traffic accident, reckless driving, or racing on the highways;

(C) Failure to render aid or provide identification when involved in an accident which results in a fatality or personal injury; or

(D) Perjury or the knowledgeable making of a false affidavit or statement to officials in connection with activities governed by a law or regulation relating to the operation of a motor vehicle.

(2) A report shall not be transmitted by the chief driver licensing official of a participating State, regarding an individual, unless that individual has had his or her motor vehicle operator's license denied, canceled, revoked, or suspended for cause as represented by the codes in appendix A, part I, of this part, or been convicted of a motor vehicle-related offense as represented by the codes in appendix A, part II, of this part. Unless the report transmitted to the NDR is based on these codes, NHTSA will contact the participating State responsible for the record and request its removal from the NDR.

(3) Any report regarding any individual which is transmitted by a chief driver licensing official pursuant to this requirement shall contain the following data:

(i) The legal name, date of birth (including day, month, and year), sex, (and if the State collects such data) height, weight, and color of eyes;

(ii) The name of the State transmitting such information; and

(iii) The social security account number, if used by the reporting State for driver record or motor vehicle license purposes, and the motor vehicle operator's license number of such individual (if that number is different from the operator's social security account number); except that

(iv) Any report concerning an occurrence identified in paragraph (a)(1) of this section which occurs during the two-year period preceding the date on which such State becomes a participating State shall be sufficient if it contains all such information as is available to the chief driver licensing official on such date.

(4) These records, defined as pointer records, shall be transmitted by the chief driver licensing official to the NDR not later than 31 days after the adverse action information is received by the motor vehicle department or 6 months after the date on which such State becomes a participating State.

(5) No State will be required to report information concerning an occurrence which happened before the two-year period preceding the date on which the State becomes a participating State.

(b) State of inquiry function for driver licensing and driver improvement purposes.

(1) The chief driver licensing official of a participating State shall submit an inquiry to both the NDR and the Commercial Driver's License Information System for each driver license applicant before issuing a license to that applicant. The issuance of a license includes but is not limited to any original, renewal, temporary, or duplicate license that results in a grant or extension of driving privileges in a participating State.

(2) The chief driver licensing official of a participating State may submit inquiries for other driver licensing and driver improvement purposes.

(c) State of inquiry function for transportation safety purposes (on behalf of other authorized users). The chief driver licensing official of a participating State shall provide for and establish routine procedures and forms to accept requests for NDR file checks from the following groups which are authorized to receive information from the NDR file through participating States:

(1) National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) for accident investigation purposes. The Chairman of the NTSB and/or the Administrator of the FHWA shall submit requests for NDR searches in writing through the participating State with which previous arrangements have been made to process these requests. The chief driver licensing official shall provide to the requesting agency the NDR response indicating either Probable Identification (match) or No Record Found. In the case of a probable identification, the State of Record will also be identified in the response so that the NTSB or FHWA may obtain additional information regarding the individual's driving record.

(2) Employers and Prospective Employers of individuals licensed to drive a motor vehicle in the State (including Federal Agencies); Federal Aviation Administration regarding any individual who has applied for or received an airman's certificate; the Federal Railroad Administration and employers/prospective employers regarding individuals who are employed or seeking employment as railroad locomotive operators; and the U.S. Coast Guard regarding any individual who holds or who has applied for a license or certificate of registry under section 7101 of title 46 of the U.S. Code, or a merchant mariner's document under section 7302 of that title, or regarding any officer, chief warrant officer, or enlisted member of the Coast Guard or Coast Guard Reserve. Information may not be obtained from the National Driver Register under this paragraph (c) if the information was entered in the Register more than three years before the date of the request unless the information is about a revocation or suspension still in effect on the date of the request.

(i) The procedures or forms developed by the chief driver licensing official to facilitate NDR searches for these authorized users shall provide for the request to be made by the individual or by the authorized user if the individual first consented to the search in writing. Any request to the chief driver licensing official and any written consent by the individual shall:

(A) State that NDR records are to be released:

(B) Specifically state who is authorized to receive the records;

(C) Be signed and dated by the individual or the individual's legal representative;

(D) Specifically state that the authorization is valid for only one search of the NDR; and

(E) Specifically state that the NDR identifies probable matches that require further inquiry for verification; that it is recommended, but not required, that the authorized recipient of the information verify matches with the State of Record; and that individuals have the right to request records regarding themselves from the NDR to verify their accuracy.

(ii) Any request made by an authorized user may include, in lieu of the actual information described in paragraphs (c)(2)(i) (C) through (E) of this section, a certification that a written consent was signed and dated by the individual or the individual's legal representative, specifically stated that the authorization is valid for only one search of the NDR, and specifically stated that the NDR identifies probable matches that require further inquiry for verification; that it is recommended, but not required, that the authorized recipient of the information verify matches with the State of Record; and that individuals have the right to request records regarding themselves from the NDR to verify their accuracy.

(iii) The chief driver licensing official shall provide to the authorized user a response indicating either Probable Identification (match) or No Record Found. In the case of probable identification, the State of Record will also be included in the response so that the authorized user may obtain additional information regarding the individual's driving record.

(3) The head of a Federal department or agency that issues motor vehicle operator's licenses about an individual applicant for a motor vehicle operator's license from such department or agency. The head of the department or agency may request NDR information through the chief driver licensing official of a State and may receive the information, provided the requesting Federal department or agency participates in the NDR as a reporting agency.

(i) A reporting agency is an agency that transmits to the NDR a report regarding any individual who has been denied a motor vehicle operator's license for cause; whose motor vehicle operator's license is revoked, suspended, or canceled by that department or agency for cause; or about whom the department or agency has been notified of a conviction of any of the motor vehicle related offenses listed in paragraph (a)(1)(iii) of this section and Appendix A to this part and over whom the department or agency has licensing authority.

(ii) All reports transmitted by a reporting agency shall contain the following data:

(A) The legal name, date of birth (including day, month, and year), sex, and, if available to the agency, height, weight, and eye color;

(B) The name of the agency transmitting such information; and

(C) The social security account number, if used by the reporting agency for driver record or motor vehicle license purposes, and the motor vehicle operator's license number of such individual (if that number is different from the operator's social security account number); except that

(D) Any report concerning an occurrence identified in paragraph (c)(3)(i) of this section which occurs during the two-year period preceding the date on which the agency becomes a participating agency shall be sufficient if it contains all such information as is available to the agency on such date.

(4) Individuals who wish to learn what information about themselves, if any, is in the NDR file, or whether and to whom such information has been disclosed.

(i) Upon receiving a request for an NDR search from an individual for information concerning himself or herself, the chief driver licensing official shall inform the individual of the procedure for conducting such a search and provide the individual a request form which, when properly completed, will be forwarded to the NDR either by the chief driver licensing official or by the individual.

(ii) The request form provided by the chief driver licensing official to the individual must provide for the following:

(A) Full legal name;

(B) Other names used (nicknames, professional name, maiden name, etc.);

(C) Month, day and year of birth;

(D) Sex;

(E) Height;

(F) Weight;

(G) Color of eyes;

(H) Social Security Number (SSN) and/or driver license number (provision of SSN is voluntary);

(I) Individual's full address;

(J) Home and office telephone number (provision of telephone number is voluntary);

(K) Signature;

(L) Proof of identification - Acceptable forms of identification are driver's license, birth certificate, credit card, employee identification card, and other forms of identification normally accepted by the State; and

(M) Notarization - This is required only if the individual chooses to mail the request directly to the NDR.

(iii) Upon receipt of the individual's request for a NDR file check, NHTSA will search its computer file and mail the results (i.e., notification of no record found or copies of any records found) directly to the individual.

(iv) The chief driver licensing official shall advise the requesting individual to contact the Chief, National Driver Register by mail or telephone for guidance regarding the procedure for alteration or correction of NDR-maintained records in the event he or she believes they are incorrect.

(d) Personnel security investigations. The chief driver licensing official of a participating State shall provide for and establish routine procedures and forms to accept requests for NDR file checks from individuals subject to personnel security investigations and from Federal departments or agencies that are authorized to perform personnel security investigations. These authorized users may receive information from the NDR file through participating States.

(1) The procedures or forms developed by the chief driver licensing official to facilitate NDR searches for these authorized users shall provide for the request to be made by the individual or by the Federal department or agency if the individual first consented to the search in writing. Any request to the chief driver licensing official and any written consent by the individual shall:

(i) State that NDR records are to be released;

(ii) Specifically state who is authorized to receive the records;

(iii) Be signed and dated by the individual or individual's legal representative;

(iv) Specifically state that the authorization is valid only for the duration of the personnel security investigation; and

(v) Specifically state that it is recommended, but not required, that the authorized recipient of the information verify matches with the State of Record.

(2) Any request made by a Federal department or agency may include, in lieu of the actual information described in paragraphs (d)(1)(iii) through (v) of this section, a certification that a written consent was signed and dated by the individual or the individual's legal representative, specifically stated that the authorization is valid only for the duration of the personnel security investigation, and specifically stated that it is recommended, but not required, that the authorized recipient of the information verify matches with the State of Record.

(3) The chief driver licensing official shall provide to the authorized user a response indicating either Probable Identification (match) or No Record Found. In the case of probable identification, the State of Record will also be included in the response so that the Federal department or agency may obtain additional information regarding the individual's driving record.

(e) State of record functions. The chief driver licensing official of a participating State shall implement the necessary computer system and procedures to respond to requests for driver record information. When a request to the NDR results in a match, the chief driver licensing official of a participating State shall also:

(1) Provide a driver status response interactively to the State of Inquiry or the NDR upon receipt of a request for this response from the NDR;

(2) Provide a Driver History Record from its file to the State of Inquiry upon receipt of a request for this record from the State of Inquiry; and

(3) Forward a driver license abstract (full motor vehicle record) to the State of Inquiry upon receipt of a request for this record either from the NDR or directly from the State of Inquiry, and to other authorized users upon receipt of a request directly from the user.

[56 FR 41403, Aug. 20, 1991, as amended at 62 FR 63657, Dec. 2, 1997; 64 FR 19271, Apr. 20, 1999; 70 FR 43755, July 29, 2005; 70 FR 52299, Sept. 2, 2005; 71 FR 19826, Apr. 18, 2006]