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Chapter 171

Section 171.12

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171.12 Driving record; filing; private data; surcharge.

Subdivision 1. Licenses filed in alphabetical order. (a) The department shall file every application for a driver's license received by it and shall maintain suitable indices containing, in alphabetical order:

(1) all applications denied and the reason for denial;

(2) all applications granted; and

(3) the name of every person whose license has been suspended, revoked, or canceled or who has been disqualified from operating a commercial motor vehicle by the department, and after each name the reasons for the action.

(b) Notwithstanding section 260B.171 or 260C.171, data revealing that the reason for the action under paragraph (a), clause (3) is an order of the juvenile court are accessible to the public.

Subd. 2. Accident report and record of conviction filed. The department shall file all accident reports and abstracts of court records of convictions and violations received by it under the laws of this state and its political subdivisions, and in connection therewith maintain convenient records or make suitable notations in order that an individual record of each licensee showing the convictions of such licensee and the traffic accidents in which the licensee has been involved shall be readily ascertainable and available for the consideration of the department upon any application for renewal of license and the revocation, suspension, or limitation of licenses.

Subd. 2a. Alcohol concentration on driving record. When a person's driver's license or permit to drive is revoked or suspended pursuant to section 169A.52, or when a person is convicted for violating section 169A.20, 169A.31, 169A.33, 360.0752, or 609.21, and a test of the person's breath, urine, or blood has been made to determine the person's alcohol concentration, the commissioner of public safety shall record the test results on the person's driving record pertaining to that violation. The alcohol concentration is classified as public data on individuals, as defined in section 13.02, subdivision 15, and must be kept for the period of time specified in subdivision 3, clause (2).

Subd. 3. Application and record, when destroyed. The department may cause applications for drivers' licenses, provisional licenses, and instruction permits, and related records, to be destroyed immediately after the period for which issued, except that:

(1) the driver's record pertaining to revocations, suspensions, cancellations, disqualifications, convictions, and accidents shall be cumulative and kept for a period of at least five years;

(2) the driver's record pertaining to the alcohol-related offenses and licensing actions listed in section 169A.03, subdivisions 20 and 21, and to violations of sections 169A.31 and 171.24, subdivision 5, shall be cumulative and kept for a period of at least 15 years, except as provided in clause (3); and

(3) the driver's record pertaining to an offense, or a related licensing action, under section 169A.20, subdivision 1, clause (1) or (5), must be purged after ten years of any reference to the offense or action if (i) this offense or action involved an alcohol concentration of 0.08 or more but less than 0.10, (ii) this offense or action was a first impaired driving incident, and (iii) the driver has incurred no other impaired driving incident during the ten-year period. For purposes of this clause, "impaired driving incident" includes any incident that may be counted as a prior impaired driving conviction or a prior impaired driving-related loss of license, as defined in section 169A.03, subdivisions 20 and 21. This clause does not apply to the driver's record of a person to whom a commercial driver's license has been issued.

Subd. 3a. Record destroyed when order rescinded. Notwithstanding subdivision 3 or section 138.163, when an order for revocation, suspension, or cancellation of a driver's license or disqualification of a driver from operating a commercial motor vehicle is rescinded and all rights of appeal have been exhausted or have expired, the commissioner shall remove the record of that revocation, suspension, cancellation, or disqualification from the computer records that are disclosed to persons or agencies outside the Driver and Vehicle Services Division, Department of Public Safety.

Subd. 3b. Record of improper suspension destroyed. Notwithstanding subdivision 3 or section 138.163, when an order for suspension of a driver's license issued pursuant to section 171.186 is rescinded because the license was improperly suspended and all rights of appeal have been exhausted or have expired, the commissioner shall remove the record of that suspension from the computer records that are disclosed to persons or agencies outside the Driver and Vehicle Services Division of the Department of Public Safety.

Subd. 4. Repealed, 1976 c 2 s 69

Subd. 5. Donor document. The department shall file all donor documents received by it, and in connection therewith maintain convenient records in order that donor status shall be readily ascertainable. On request of any interested party upon or after the donor's death, the department shall produce the donor document for examination.

Subd. 6. Certain convictions not recorded. The department shall not keep on the record of a driver any conviction for a violation of section 169.14, subdivision 2, paragraph (a), clause (3), unless the violation consisted of a speed greater than ten miles per hour in excess of the lawful speed.

Subd. 7. Privacy of residence address. (a) An applicant for a driver's license or a Minnesota identification card may request that the applicant's residence address be classified as private data on individuals, as defined in section 13.02, subdivision 12. The commissioner shall grant the classification upon receipt of a signed statement by the individual that the classification is required for the safety of the applicant or the applicant's family, if the statement also provides a valid, existing address where the applicant consents to receive service of process. The commissioner shall use the mailing address in place of the residence address in all documents and notices pertaining to the driver's license or identification card. The residence address and any information provided in the classification request, other than the mailing address, are private data on individuals and may be provided to requesting law enforcement agencies, probation and parole agencies, and public authorities, as defined in section 518.54, subdivision 9.

(b) An applicant for a driver's license or a Minnesota identification card must be informed in a clear and conspicuous manner on the forms for the issuance or renewal that the applicant's personal information may be disclosed to any person who makes a request for the personal information, and that except for uses permitted by United States Code, title 18, section 2721, subsection (b), the applicant may prohibit disclosure of the personal information by so indicating on the form.

(c) An applicant for a driver's license or a Minnesota identification card must be also informed in a clear and conspicuous manner on forms that the applicant's personal information may be used, rented, or sold solely for bulk distribution by organizations for business purposes, including surveys, marketing, or solicitation. The commissioner shall implement methods and procedures that enable the applicant to request that bulk surveys, marketing, or solicitation not be directed to the applicant. If the applicant so requests, the commissioner shall implement the request in a timely manner and the personal information may not be so used.

(d) To the extent permitted by United States Code, title 18, section 2721, data on individuals provided to obtain a Minnesota identification card or a driver's license is public data on individuals and shall be disclosed as permitted by United States Code, title 18, section 2721, subsection (b).

Subd. 7a. Disclosure of personal information. The commissioner shall disclose personal information where the use is related to the operation of a motor vehicle or to public safety. The use of personal information is related to public safety if it concerns the physical safety or security of drivers, vehicles, pedestrians, or property. The commissioner may refuse to disclose data under this subdivision when the commissioner concludes that the requester is likely to use the data for illegal, improper, or noninvestigative purposes.

Subd. 8. Request for information; surcharge on fee. The commissioner shall impose a surcharge of 50 cents on each fee charged by the commissioner under section 13.03, subdivision 3, for copies or electronic transmittal of public information concerning driver's license and Minnesota identification card applicants. This surcharge only applies to a fee imposed in responding to a request made in person or by mail, or to a request for transmittal through a computer modem. The surcharge does not apply to the request of an individual for information concerning that individual's driver's license or Minnesota identification card. The commissioner shall forward the surcharges collected under this subdivision to the commissioner of finance on a monthly basis. Upon receipt, the commissioner of finance shall credit the surcharges to the general fund.

HIST: (2720-144i) 1939 c 401 s 12; 1943 c 610 s 3; 1967 c 205 s 1; 1969 c 871 s 2; 1975 c 393 s 2; 1986 c 444; 1986 c 454 s 24; 1988 c 670 s 10; 1989 c 307 s 24; 1990 c 461 s 2; 1993 c 266 s 25; 1993 c 326 art 11 s 3,4; 1994 c 501 s 4-6; 1994 c 615 s 19; 1994 c 618 art 1 s 25; 1995 c 257 art 1 s 10; 1995 c 259 art 1 s 37; 1996 c 440 art 1 s 43,44; 1996 c 455 art 1 s 9; 1Sp1997 c 2 s 53; 1998 c 371 s 9; 1998 c 388 s 19; 1999 c 139 art 4 s 2; 2000 c 478 art 2 s 7; 2002 c 368 s 2; 2004 c 283 s 11

* NOTE: The amendment to subdivision 3 by Laws 2004, chapter *283, section 11, is effective August 1, 2005. Laws 2004, *chapter 283, section 15.

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Revisor of Statutes