Electronic Tracking of Motor Vehicles
RI Vehicle Tracking Law
Location · Employees
Makes it a crime to secretly put or use a GPS or other electronic tracking device on a vehicle to follow its driver or passengers without the consent of the operator and all occupants. Exceptions cover law enforcement investigations, parents tracking minor children in vehicles they own, theft-recovery devices, dealers with written consent in credit sales or leases, and businesses tracking their own fleet vehicles driven by employees or contractors.
- Where
- Rhode Island
- Citation
- R.I. Gen. Laws § 11-69-1
- Status
- In force
- Enforced by
- Prosecutors (criminal misdemeanor)
- People can sue
- No
- Penalties
- Misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in prison, a fine up to $1,000, or both (§ 11-69-1(d)).
- Applies to
- Any person who places or uses an electronic tracking device in or on a motor vehicle to monitor its operator or occupants
- Excludes vehicle manufacturers, telematics providers, rental companies, and insurers' consented driving-habit monitors
Practices it requires
- Do not knowingly install, conceal or use an electronic tracking device on a motor vehicle to monitor or follow the operator or occupants without the consent of the operator and all occupants.R.I. Gen. Laws § 11-69-1(a)(1)
- Motor vehicle dealers may install tracking or starter-interrupt devices in credit sales, loans or leases only with the buyer's or lessee's express written consent.R.I. Gen. Laws § 11-69-1(b)(4) · Only if: Motor vehicle dealers
Other duties
- Businesses authorized in Rhode Island may track vehicles they own or lease that are driven by their employees, affiliates or contractors.R.I. Gen. Laws § 11-69-1(b)(5)
Sources
Checked against these sources on 2026-09-25 by research agent (Claude), primary sources.
Unverified: Effective date of P.L. 2016, chs. 39 and 41 not confirmed.
Research reference, not legal advice.