The VA Driving Record Request: Who May Ask, and the Three Routes

There are three ways to request a driving record in VA: online through the DMV, by mail with an Information Request (form CRD-93) sent to the DMV in Richmond, or in person at a customer service center with photo identification and the transcript fee. A request has to say who you are and why you want it, and Va. Code § 46.2-208 decides whether the DMV may release it at all.

Who may request Virginia driving record transcripts

Section 46.2-208 A makes personal information, driver information and vehicle information privileged. Subsection B then lists who may receive it, and the categories an ordinary driver runs into are these:

Requester	What is required	What they get
The subject of the record	Identity verification; the request need not be written or in person	The information plus “a complete explanation of it”
A parent of a minor, a guardian, or an authorized agent	The same	The same
An insurance carrier or surety	Written request	A transcript of convictions and crashes, with nothing more than 60 months old unless it caused a suspension
An employer or prospective employer	Written request and the individual’s written consent; the job must involve driving	A transcript of convictions, crashes, license type and any suspensions
An employer of a commercial license holder	Written request; no consent required	The same transcript, including disqualifications
Volunteer fire companies and emergency medical services agencies	Written request with consent, plus evidence of membership or application	The transcript, free of charge
Certain named volunteer organizations	Written request with the applicant’s consent	The transcript at half the normal charge
Counsel from a public defender’s office or court-appointed counsel	Request in the scope of official business	The records free of charge

A private individual cannot obtain another adult’s record. The section also bars the DMV from disseminating privileged information for civil immigration enforcement unless the subject consents or the requester presents a lawful judicial order, subpoena or warrant, and requires notice to the individual within three business days of such a request. The current text is marked “Effective until January 1, 2027,” so the list should be re-checked after that date.

How to get a copy of your driving record: Virginia DMV, three routes

1. Online

The DMV’s request a copy of your driver or vehicle record service handles it immediately, with payment by card. This is the usual route for a personal-use record.

2. By mail

Send a written request, or the Information Request (form CRD-93), with the fee, to the DMV at P.O. Box 27412, Richmond, VA 23269. Include your full name, address, Social Security number and the reason you want the record. Allow time for the round trip: a mailed request is the slowest of the three and is usually only necessary where a card payment is not possible or where the form’s certification is wanted.

3. In person

Visit a DMV customer service center with appropriate identification — a valid driver’s license or photo identification card — and the transcript fee. This is the route to use when the record is needed the same day.

Which record type to ask for on the Virginia driving record request form

The DMV issues several, and asking for the wrong one is the most common reason a court or employer sends a driver back:

Record type	History covered
Driver / Personal Use	Up to 11 years
Driver / Employment, School or Military	Up to 7 years
Driver / Transportation Network Company	Up to 7 years
Driver / Insurance	A summary for insurance purposes, up to 5 years
Driver / Habitual Offender Restoration	Up to 11 years

The online service and form CRD-93 both ask which type you want, so the choice is made at the moment of the request. For a court appearance, the personal-use record is the fullest picture. For a job application, the employment record is the one the employer’s form usually asks for. Whether a certified copy is needed — one carrying the DMV’s certification for use as evidence — is worth confirming with whoever asked for it, because certification is a separate charge.

What it costs

The transcript fee and any certification charge are set by the DMV’s published fee schedule rather than by statute, and the DMV directs requesters to the customer records section of its fee list rather than quoting a figure on the request page. Check the current amount on the DMV’s record request page before sending money by mail. Two fee rules do come from § 46.2-208: records are free to public defenders and court-appointed counsel acting in their official business and to qualifying volunteer fire and emergency medical services members, and half-price for applicants to certain named volunteer organizations.

If the reason for the request is simply to see the current demerit point balance, no request is needed at all — that view is free in a DMV online account, as set out in checking a Virginia driving record for nothing.

What the record will contain

Whichever type is ordered, the transcript is built from court-reported convictions with the demerit points assigned to each under Va. Code § 46.2-492, plus suspensions, revocations, license status and crash reports. Read it against the fact that the entry and its points run on separate clocks — the points expire after two years under Va. Code § 46.2-493 while the entry itself remains for three, five or eleven — which is why a transcript ordered for a court can look worse than the point balance behind it. A photo-speed civil penalty is not on it at all, because Va. Code § 46.2-882.1 keeps it off the operating record.

Everything the record holds is set out in what a Virginia driving record shows, and the point value behind each line in the DMV’s demerit point schedule.

Before you send the request

1. Confirm the record type with whoever asked for it, and whether they need it certified.
2. Check the current fee on the DMV page rather than from an older figure quoted elsewhere.
3. Have the identifying details ready — name, address, Social Security number and the reason for the request.
4. Read the record when it arrives against the two clocks above. If it is being ordered because a conviction on it looks wrong, the court that entered the conviction is the place to start, and a Virginia traffic attorney can read that case file against the transcript.
5. If something is wrong, § 46.2-208 B 4 requires the DMV, on written request from the subject of the record, to verify and if necessary correct the information it holds.