TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – A Florida lawmaker has introduced legislation that seeks to end a statewide practice of selling residents’ driver’s licenses and ID card information to private companies, data brokers, insurance analytics firms, and foreign-owned entities.
Florida Rep. Peggy Gossett-Seidman (R-District 91) filed the Motor Vehicle Operator Privacy Act on Sunday, stating that for more than 15 years, the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV) has operated data-sharing agreements that generated over $490 million from selling driver information, according to public audits and investigations.
Recommended Videos
The data sold includes names, addresses, birth dates, driver license numbers, driving histories, crash records, vehicle information, organ-donor status, physical descriptors, commercial driver’s license credentials, renewal history, restriction codes, emergency contact information, and in some cases, driver photographs.
Additionally, the lawmaker states that the sales have occurred without residents’ knowledge, consent, or an option to opt out and that dozens of national and foreign-owned companies have purchased the information for figures that include $77.9 million collected in 2017, approximately $263 million from 2021 to 2023, and more than $150 million before 2015.
“Floridians are required by law to provide their personal information to the DMV, and it is our responsibility to ensure that information is never misused. The State of Florida is not in the business of selling your personal information. Under my bill, it never will be again,” Rep. Gossett-Seidman said.
She added that residents have reported identity theft shortly after renewing their licenses, unsolicited attorney advertisements after minor citations, and marketers showing up at their doors.
“For years, this system operated without public awareness. Even high-ranking state officials were not fully informed. HB 357 shuts this down for good,” she said.
The bill seeks to ban all commercial sales of driver license and ID card information, block foreign and foreign-owned entities from accessing Florida driver data, require written consent before any non-law-enforcement disclosure, prohibit insurers and third parties from using DMV data for risk scoring or marketing, and require insurers to rely only on verified state driving records.
The bill also aims to eliminate third-party risk scores that can unfairly raise insurance premiums, establish mandatory oversight and public reporting of permitted data access, apply protections retroactively to previously shared data, and terminate outdated contracts.
The legislation, if approved, would take effect on July 1, 2026.
“Floridians deserve privacy, security, and control over their own information. HB 357 ends the era of driver-data sales and restores trust in our state systems,” Rep. Gossett-Seidman said.