Driver's Licenses and Inter-State Compacts

A "compact" can be an agreement among states regarding a matter of mutual interest.  As the automobile became more ubiquitous, states began signing compacts to share information regarding drivers and traffic violations.  The Driver License Compact (DLC) and Nonresident Violator Compact (NRVC) constitute such agreements and have facilitated the sharing of driver information to advance highway safety and related goals.

Driver License Compact

The DLC was drafted by the Council of State Governments in 1961.  In 1965, the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA) began serving as the Secretariat of states that signed the DLC; it has a board composed of representatives from member states.  By the mid-1990's 45 states were members of the DLC.  The general purpose of the DLC is to provide "greater uniformity among the member jurisdictions when exchanging information with other members on convictions, records, licenses, withdrawals and other data pertinent to the licensing process."  Specific requirements of the DLC include:

• Any conviction of a person in a state that is a party to the DLC must be reported to the person's home state.
  
  
• The report must clearly identify the person convicted; describe the violation (including the code section violated); identify the court where the action was taken; indicate whether the person pleaded guilty or not guilty (or if the conviction was a result of forfeiture of bond, bail or other security); and provide details of any special findings.
  
  
• For specified convictions (e.g., DUI or manslaughter or negligent homicide resulting from operating a vehicle), the home state must give the same effect to the conviction as if it happened within the home state for the purposes of suspension, revocation, and limitation of the license.
  
  
• For a person applying for a new license, a state must check to see if the person is licensed in another state and, if so, may not grant a new license when the license from the other state is still in effect or has been suspended or revoked.

The DLC thus makes certain that a driver's home state obtains and processes traffic violations committed by that driver in another state. This prevents a driver from committing a serious driving offense (such as vehicular manslaughter) in one state and yet still be allowed to drive in another state. This information may also result in raising the driver's insurance costs.  

Nonresident Violator Compact

The NRVC was initially developed in 1965 and was subsequently amended and revised.  Approximately 45 states have signed the NRVC; some states have signed both the NRVC and the DLC, others have signed only one of the compacts.  A main purpose of the NRVC is standardization of methods for processing nonresident drivers who receive citations, then fail to appear or otherwise comply with an outstanding traffic summons. Officers of NRVC party states may issue a citation to a nonresident driver, but do not require the posting of collateral or a bond, except in certain cases.

If a driver fails to appear or otherwise comply with the terms of the traffic citation, a warrant for the driver's arrest may be issued and the arresting officer or other official shall file a report that:

• Clearly identifies the person arrested or cited;
• Describes the violation, specifying the law, ordinance, or rule violated;
• Indicates the location of the offense; and
• Describes the vehicle and its license number

This report is transmitted to the home state, which must immediately initiate license suspension proceedings against the driver.  A resulting suspension remains in effect until the home state receives evidence that the problem with the other state is resolved.  However, the NRVC does not cover non-moving violations such as parking tickets or expired licenses.

The Driver License Agreement

In 2000, the DLC and NRVC were revised and combined by the board of the AAMVA to create the Driver License Agreement (DLA). The purpose of the DLA is to provide a single system that will make driver information transfer among states more efficient and effective.  To join the DLA, a state must file a "Notice of Joinder" executed by an authorized state official.  The DLA has not yet become effective.  In the interim, the Joint Executive Board of the DLC and NRVC will administer the program.  The DLA will not terminate or affect any actions taken under the DLC or NRVC.

Uniform Identification/National Driver License

Even before the events of 9/11, the AAMVA had begun work on a "Uniform Identification" (UID) that can serve as a secure driver license and national identification card, which would include encoded information about the individual.  The goal is "one driver, one driver control record, one license."  The proposal is currently being studied and recommendations formed by 13 UID Task Groups of the AAMVA.  A major goal is uniformity and reliability in the issuance of a national UID/driver license for each individual, with records still kept by the home jurisdiction, but shared through a computer network.

Legislation has also been introduced in Congress to standardize the issuance of driver licenses and the information necessary to obtain them, in order to foster a uniform, reliable license that can be used as identification.  Some proposals would require a "smart" chip embedded in the license containing biometric identifiers such as fingerprints.  Encoded biographical, financial and other information may also be included.