(a) Except as provided in Sections 1806.5, 1808.2, 1808.4, 1808.5, 1808.6, 1808.7, 1808.8, and paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 12800.5, the department may permit inspection of, or sell, or both, information from its records concerning the registration of any vehicle or information from the files of drivers’ licenses at a charge sufficient to pay at least the actual cost to the department for providing the inspection or sale of the information, including, but not limited to, costs incurred by the department in carrying out subdivision (b), with the charge for the information to be determined by the director. This section does not apply to statistical information of the type previously compiled and distributed by the department.
(b) (1) With respect to the inspection or sale of information concerning the registration of any vehicle or of information from the files of drivers’ licenses, the department shall establish, by regulation, administrative procedures under which any person making a request for that information shall be required to identify himself or herself and state the reason for making the request. The procedures shall provide for the verification of the name and address of the person making a request for the information, and the department may require the person to produce that information as it determines is necessary to ensure that the name and address of the person is the true name and address. The procedures may provide for a 10-day delay in the release of the requested information. The procedures shall also provide for notification to the person to whom the information primarily relates, as to what information was provided and to whom it was provided. The department shall establish, by regulation, a reasonable period of time for which a record of all the foregoing shall be maintained.
(2) The procedures required by this subdivision do not apply to any governmental entity, any person who has applied for and has been issued a requester code by the department, or any court of competent jurisdiction.
(c) With respect to the inspection or sale of information from the files of drivers’ licenses, the department may require both the full name of the driver and either the driver’s license number or date of birth as identifying points of the record, except that the department may disclose a record without two identifying points if the department determines that the public interest in disclosure outweighs the public interest in personal privacy.
(d) With respect to the inspection or sale of information from the files of drivers’ licenses, certificates of ownership, and registration cards, the department may not allow, for a fee or otherwise, copying by the public.
(Amended by Stats. 2003, Ch. 594, Sec. 15. Effective January 1, 2004.)