HB0357 Motor Vehicle Operator Privacy | Florida Bill

Plain English Breakdown

While the official status label says 'Passed Legislature', the last action listed is 'Died in Government Operations Subcommittee'. This creates uncertainty about whether the bill actually became law.

Driver Privacy Act

This law keeps certain driver information private by stopping the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles from selling or sharing it with specific companies, foreign countries, or individuals.

What This Bill Does

Prohibits selling or sharing personal driver records with third-party companies, foreign countries of concern, or foreign principals.
Makes email addresses collected by the Department confidential so they cannot be sold or shared with restricted groups.
Keeps emergency contact information private and limits its release to law enforcement or medical facilities during emergencies without consent.
Exempts secure login credentials and internet access data from public records requests until October 2, 2026.
Sets a fine of up to $2,000 for anyone who uses driver database information for unauthorized purposes.

Who It Names or Affects

The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles
Third-party companies such as marketing firms, debt collectors, insurance companies, or data brokers
Foreign countries of concern and foreign principals
Motor vehicle operators whose records are held by the state

Terms To Know

Third-party company: Any marketing firm, debt collector, insurance company, or data broker.
Foreign country of concern: A foreign nation defined under Florida Statute 692.201.
Motor vehicle record: Any file about a driver's permit, car title, registration, or ID card issued by the state department.

Limits and Unknowns

The law applies retroactively to email addresses collected before it took effect.
Some privacy exemptions for login and internet data will expire on October 2, 2026, unless lawmakers renew them.
The bill text does not list specific names of foreign countries or companies that are restricted.

Official Summary Text

Motor Vehicle Operator Privacy; Prohibits certain personal information & e-mail addresses from being sold to or shared with third-party company, foreign country of concern, or foreign principal; provides for retroactive application; provides penalties for third-party company that uses or releases certain information for specified purpose.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

HB 357 2026

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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S

A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to motor vehicle operator privacy; 2
providing a short title; amending s. 119.0712, F.S.; 3
providing definitions; prohibiting certain personal 4
information and e-mail addresses from being sold to or 5
shared with a third-party company, foreign country of 6
concern, or foreign principal; providing for 7
retroactive application; providing penalties for a 8
third-party company that uses or releases certain 9
information for a specified purpose; providing an 10
effective date. 11
12
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 13
14
Section 1. This act may be cited as the "Driver Privacy 15
Act." 16
Section 2. Subsection (2) of section 119.0712, Florida 17
Statutes, is amended to read: 18
119.0712 Executive branch agency-specific exemptions from 19
inspection or copying of public records.— 20
(2) DEPARTMENT OF HIGHWAY SAFETY AND MOTOR VEHICLES.— 21
(a) For purposes of this subsection, the term: 22
1. "Foreign country of concern" has the same meaning as in 23
s. 692.201. 24
2. "Foreign principal" has the same meaning as in s. 25

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692.201. 26
3. "Motor vehicle record" means any record that pertains 27
to a motor vehicle operator's permit, motor vehicle title, motor 28
vehicle registration, or identification card issued by the 29
Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. 30
4. "Public-facing portal" means a web portal or computer 31
application accessible by the public over the Internet, whether 32
through a mobile device, a website, or any other electronic 33
means, which is established for administering chapter 319, 34
chapter 320, chapter 322, chapter 328, or any other provision of 35
law conferring duties upon the department. 36
5. "Secure login credentials" means information held by 37
the department for purposes of authenticating a user logging 38
into a user account on a computer, a computer system, a computer 39
network, or an electronic device; an online user account 40
accessible over the Internet, whether through a mobile device, a 41
website, or any other electronic means; or information used for 42
authentication or password recovery. 43
6. "Third-party company" means any marketing firm, debt 44
collector, insurance company, or data broker. 45
(b) Personal information, including highly restricted 46
personal information as defined in 18 U.S.C. s. 2725, contained 47
in a motor vehicle record is confidential pursuant to the 48
federal Driver's Privacy Protection Act of 1994, 18 U.S.C. ss. 49
2721 et seq. Such information may be released only as authorized 50

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by that act; however, information received pursuant to that act 51
may not be used for mass commercial solicitation of clients for 52
litigation against motor vehicle dealers and may not be sold to 53
or shared with a third-party company, foreign country of 54
concern, or foreign principal. 55
(c) E-mail addresses collected by the Department of 56
Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles pursuant to s. 319.40(3), s. 57
320.95(2), or s. 322.08(10) are exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 58
24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution and may not be sold to 59
or shared with a third-party company, foreign country of 60
concern, or foreign principal. This exemption applies 61
retroactively. 62
(d)1. Emergency contact information contained in a motor 63
vehicle record is confidential and exempt from s. 119.07(1) and 64
s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. 65
2. Without the express consent of the person to whom such 66
emergency contact information applies, the emergency contact 67
information contained in a motor vehicle record may be released 68
only to: 69
a. Law enforcement agencies for purposes of contacting 70
those listed in the event of an emergency. 71
b. A receiving facility, hospital, or licensed 72
detoxification or addictions receiving facility pursuant to s. 73
394.463(2)(a) or s. 397.6772(1)(a) for the sole purpose of 74
informing a patient's emergency contacts of the patient's 75

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whereabouts. 76
(e) Any person or third-party company that who uses or 77
releases any information contained in the Driver and Vehicle 78
Information Database for a purpose not specifically authorized 79
by law commits a noncriminal infraction, punishable by a fine 80
not exceeding $2,000. 81
(f)1. Secure login credentials held by the Department of 82
Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles are exempt from s. 119.07(1) 83
and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. This exemption 84
applies to secure login credentials held by the department 85
before, on, or after the effective date of the exemption. For 86
purposes of this subparagraph, the term "secure login 87
credentials" means information held by the department for 88
purposes of authenticating a user logging into a user account on 89
a computer, a computer system, a computer network, or an 90
electronic device; an online user account accessible over the 91
Internet, whether through a mobile device, a website, or any 92
other electronic means; or information used for authentication 93
or password recovery. 94
2. Internet protocol addresses, geolocation data, and 95
other information held by the Department of Highway Safety and 96
Motor Vehicles which describes the location, computer, computer 97
system, or computer network from which a user accesses a public-98
facing portal, and the dates and times that a user accesses a 99
public-facing portal, are exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), 100

HB 357 2026

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Art. I of the State Constitution. This exemption applies to such 101
information held by the department before, on, or after the 102
effective date of the exemption. For purposes of this 103
subparagraph, the term "public-facing portal" means a web portal 104
or computer application accessible by the public over the 105
Internet, whether through a mobile device, website, or other 106
electronic means, which is established for administering chapter 107
319, chapter 320, chapter 322, chapter 328, or any other 108
provision of law conferring duties upon the department. 109
3. This paragraph is subject to the Open Government Sunset 110
Review Act in accordance with s. 119.15 and shall stand repealed 111
on October 2, 2026, unless reviewed and saved from repeal 112
through reenactment by the Legislature. 113
Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026. 114