Motor Vehicle Records Confidentiality (state driver privacy law)
NH Motor Vehicle Records Privacy
Government records · Data brokers · Other
Makes New Hampshire motor vehicle records confidential and not public, releasing them only for listed permissible uses on proof of identity and a signed representation of the intended use, and never including photographs or Social Security numbers for those uses. Recipients may not resell or redisclose the information outside the permitted use, and misuse carries criminal penalties and liquidated civil damages.
- Where
- New Hampshire
- Citation
- N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. 260:14
- Status
- In force
- Last amended
- 2026-07-30
- Enforced by
- NH Department of Safety (commissioner); prosecutors; aggrieved persons
- People can sue
- Yes
- Penalties
- Knowing unauthorized disclosure, false representation to obtain records, or unauthorized use is a misdemeanor; knowingly selling records in violation in the course of business is a class B felony. The department and aggrieved persons may recover the greater of actual damages or $2,500 per violation plus fees; violators may be barred from receiving records for up to 5 years.
- Applies to
- NH Department of Safety, Division of Motor Vehicles
- Businesses and other persons requesting or receiving motor vehicle records, including resellers of those records
Rights it gives people
- Individuals may access their own motor vehicle records on proof of identity; others need the subject's notarized written consent.RSA 260:14, VII
- Aggrieved persons may sue for the greater of actual damages or $2,500 per violation, plus attorneys' fees and costs.RSA 260:14, X
Practices it requires
- Requesters must prove their identity and represent in writing that use of records will be strictly limited to a permitted purpose; photographs, computerized images and SSNs are withheld.RSA 260:14, IV-V
- Authorized recipients of personal information for a particular use may not sell, rent, transfer or otherwise make it available to others, except as the statute allows.RSA 260:14, VI(a)
Sources
Checked against these sources on 2026-09-25 by research agent (Claude), primary sources.
Unverified: effective_date left null: the section derives from 1921 and was rewritten several times (major privacy restructuring 1996-2000); the date privacy protections first took effect was not isolated
Research reference, not legal advice.