2007 Minnesota Statutes

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 is cumulative and must be kept for a period of at least five years;
(2) the driver's record pertaining to violations of a driver or vehicle out-of-service order must
be kept for a period of at least ten years; and
(3) the driver's record pertaining to felony convictions in the commission of which a motor
vehicle was used, to the alcohol-related offenses and licensing actions listed in section 169A.03,
subdivisions 20 and 21 , to violations of section 169.09, to violations of section 169A.31, and to
violations of section 171.24, subdivision 5, must be retained permanently.
    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. (a) Except as provided in paragraph (b), the
department shall not keep on the record of a driver any conviction for a violation of a speed limit
of 55 or 60 miles per hour unless the violation consisted of a speed greater than ten miles per
hour in excess of a 55 miles per hour speed limit, or more than five miles per hour in excess
of a 60 miles per hour speed limit.
(b) This subdivision does not apply to (1) a violation that occurs in a commercial motor
vehicle, or (2) a violation committed by a holder of a class A, B, or C commercial driver's
license, without regard to whether the violation was committed in a commercial motor vehicle or
another vehicle.
    Subd. 7. Privacy of data. (a) Data on individuals provided to obtain a driver's license or
Minnesota identification card shall be treated as provided by United States Code, title 18, section
2721, as in effect on May 23, 2005, and shall be disclosed as required or permitted by that section.
(b) An applicant for a driver's license or a Minnesota identification card may consent, in
writing, to the commissioner to disclose the applicant's personal information exempted by
United States Code, title 18, section 2721, to any person who makes a request for the personal
information. If the applicant so authorizes disclosures, the commissioner shall implement the
request and the information may be used.
(c) If authorized by an applicant for a driver's license or a Minnesota identification card,
as indicated in paragraph (b), 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.
(d) An applicant for a driver's license, instruction permit, or 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 on 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 service for
process mailing address in place of the residence address in all documents and notices pertaining to
the driver's license, instruction permit, or Minnesota 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 518A.26, subdivision 18.
    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.[Repealed, 1Sp2005 c 6 art 2 s 48]
    Subd. 9. Driving record disclosure to law enforcement. The commissioner shall also
furnish driving records, without charge, to chiefs of police, county sheriffs, prosecuting attorneys,
and other law enforcement agencies with the power to arrest.
History: (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 11,15; 2005 c 163 s 78; 2005 c 164 s 29; 1Sp2005 c 6 art 3 s
68,69; 1Sp2005 c 7 s 28; 2007 c 54 art 3 s 3