Reviewed and updated October 12, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. Every fact on this page was read from the California DMV's own pages that day, and the DMV page each fact came from is linked where it appears.
How to get a California driving record or vehicle record from the DMV, what a driver record contains and for how long, what the DMV keeps confidential, how to request someone else's record, and how to correct an error. The points that build a record are explained on the points guide, the DUI actions on it on the DUI guide.
In this guide: Your own driver record, What the record contains, and for how long, Vehicle and vessel records, What the DMV does not release, Other records the DMV provides, Correcting an error, Questions about California driving records
Your own driver record
The DMV's online driver record request lets you view and print your own record for $2 with a MyDMV account and a payment method. The DMV warns that the record is shown once: if the shopping cart confirmation page is closed before printing, a new purchase is needed, and online requests are for viewing and printing only. For a certified copy by mail, the Request for Your Own Driver's License/Identification Card or Vehicle/Vessel Registration Information Record (INF 1125) goes to DMV headquarters with the $5 fee; the same request can be made at a DMV kiosk or by phone at (916) 657-8098, per the DMV's records request page. Your address is kept off the screen and printed only if you ask and the address you give matches the record. Employers and other requesters with a DMV requester code obtain records separately.
What the record contains, and for how long
The DMV says the former H6 or 10-year record, which carried internal department information, is no longer available since March 20, 2019; a driver record now holds only the reportable information required by Vehicle Code section 1808: convictions for three, seven or ten years, departmental actions, and accidents. The reporting periods the DMV lists:
| Item | How long it reports |
|---|---|
| Collisions | 3 years from the collision date; 10 years when a commercial vehicle or hazardous materials indicator is on the record |
| Convictions of two-point violations | 10 years from the violation date, for most |
| Other traffic convictions | 3 years from the violation date |
| DUI convictions, noncommercial drivers | 10 years |
| Commercial driver violations under certain Vehicle Code sections, and commercial DUI and Admin Per Se actions | 55 years |
| Admin Per Se actions | 3 years from the reinstatement, through or termination date, whichever is earliest; 10 years from last contact if those dates are absent |
| DUI actions and financial responsibility actions | 3 years from the proof termination or reinstatement date, whichever is earlier |
| Failures to appear and failures to pay | 5 years from the violation date; 10 years for a DUI failure to appear |
| Negligent operator and provisional licensing actions | 3 years from the proof termination or through date |
| Physical or mental actions | 10 years from last contact while in effect; 3 years after the action ends |
| Traffic school conviction, noncommercial | The second conviction in an 18-month period reports; a sealed abstract goes to insurers with requester codes and to the driver |
The DMV's glossary on the record page explains the terms: an abstract is a court document, an action is a cancellation, suspension, revocation or restriction, FTA is a failure to appear and FTP a failure to pay, proof is insurance filed with the DMV, and the reinstatement date is when the privilege returns to its former status.
Vehicle and vessel records
Your own vehicle or vessel registration record prints from the DMV's online vehicle record request for $2, with one chance to print after payment, an online account, and a 1.95 percent processing fee on card payments (none from a bank account). Another person's driving or vehicle record takes the Request for Record Information (INF 70) by mail with $5 per record. Photocopies of vehicle or vessel documents not available electronically are $20 per year requested. The DMV's registration information request fees are the same $2 electronic and $5 manual, with history fees of $5 per year automated, $20 non-automated and $20 per photocopy.
What the DMV does not release
The DMV's records page says confidential information such as a home address, home telephone number, physical or mental information, Social Security number and photograph is not public record and is released only when the law authorizes it, and that all records of a person's physical or mental condition are confidential. Insurance policy information is released only to a court, a law enforcement or government agency, the insurer to verify its own record, or a person involved in a reported accident and their representative. Records of official actions on a driving privilege, convictions, violations, accidents, status, suspensions and revocations, are open to inspection under Vehicle Code section 1808 and are not personal information. When the DMV releases a record on an INF 70, 70D or 70R request, Vehicle Code section 1810 requires it to notify the person whose record was requested; requesters with a DMV requester code are exempt, and the DMV must notify you when it releases your residence address to an attorney for a motor vehicle incident.
Other records the DMV provides
The records page lists more: Driver Safety hearing transcripts and audio from the Litigation Services Unit ($2 for the procedures, $115 for a document or audio file, plus per-page fees); financial responsibility information, an uninsured motorist certificate or a copy of an accident report (SR 1) with form SR 19C and $20, released only to people involved in the accident or their attorney; National Driver Register checks for employers (INF 1301A, $5) and a notarized letter to the Department of Transportation for your own NDR record; occupational licensing information on dealers, salespeople, dismantlers, driving schools and traffic violator schools through the DMV's online status system or form OL 100 with $5; Public Records Act requests to the Legal Affairs Division; and bulk requests of more than 15 records through the Materials Management Section.
Correcting an error
The DMV receives conviction information from the courts. For an incorrect traffic violation or conviction, contact the court or file a Driver License Record Correction Request (DL 207); the online record page also names form DL 207A for a collision and the Abstract/Document Error Form DL 157 or court correspondence. For a suspected error in a traffic accident entry, file a Traffic Accident Record Correction Request (DL 208). The forms are downloadable, mailed on request at 1-800-777-0133, or available at any office, and the Mandatory Actions Unit answers questions at (916) 657-6525.
Questions about California driving records
How much does my driving record cost?
$2 online, $5 by mail, walk-in or phone, set by California Code of Regulations section 350.44. A certified copy by mail uses form INF 1125 with the $5 fee.
How long do points and convictions stay on my record?
Most two-point violations report for 10 years from the violation date and other traffic convictions for 3 years; DUI convictions report for 10 years for noncommercial drivers; collisions for 3 years, or 10 years with a commercial vehicle or hazardous materials; failures to appear for 5 years, or 10 for a DUI offense.
What happened to the 10-year record?
The DMV stopped issuing the former H6 or 10-year record on March 20, 2019. A driver record now carries only the reportable information under Vehicle Code section 1808: convictions for three, seven or ten years, departmental actions and accidents.
Can I get someone else's record?
With a Request for Record Information (INF 70) by mail and $5 per record; the DMV says the law requires it to notify the person whose record was requested, except for government and commercial requesters with a DMV requester code.
How do I fix an error on my record?
For a traffic violation or conviction, contact the court or file a Driver License Record Correction Request (DL 207); for a collision, a Traffic Accident Record Correction Request (DL 208). The forms come from the DMV's site, by calling 1-800-777-0133, or at any office; questions go to the Mandatory Actions Unit at (916) 657-6525.
Does the online record show my address?
Not on screen. The DMV prints the address on the copy only if you request it and the address you give matches the record.
Written by SearchSystems.net from the California DMV's records request page, online driver record request page, online vehicle record request page and registration fees page, read on October 12, 2026.