NCDMV sells your personal information, pockets millions of dollars
You need the North Carolina DMV to get your license and registration, and while you give them your personal information, they can turn around and sell it, and it's all legal.
Just in the last five years, NCDMV has made more than $4 million by selling our personal information.
NCDMV charges three cents per record, and while the Driver's Privacy Protection Act bans state DMVs from disclosing personal information, there are 14 exceptions, including for government agencies and insurance agencies.
A representative with NCDMV said the department sells your personal information to these three companies.
- Explore Info Services
- Envision-Data Driven Safety
- Lexis Nexis Corporation
If a company disclosing the personal information violates state and federal law, they can take action, but a representative said in the last five years there have been no violations.
Here is how much the NC DMV claims it has made by selling drivers' personal information:
- 2015 Total: $770,518
- 2016 Total: $774,064
- 2017 Total: $723,144
- 2018 Total: $996,891
- 2019 Total: $821,332
The bad news is even if you want to opt-out of the DMV selling your personal information, you can't do that. That's why it's so important to always stay on top of identity theft by checking your credit report at least once a year.
