Section 1808.21.
Cal. Vehicle Code - VEH § 1808.21.
in effect(a)
Any residence address in any record of the department is confidential and shall not be disclosed to any person, except a court, law enforcement agency, or other government agency, or as authorized in Section 1808.22 or 1808.23.
(b)
Release of any mailing address or part thereof in any record of the department may be restricted to a release for purposes related to the reasons for which the information was collected, including, but not limited to, the assessment of driver risk, or ownership of vehicles or vessels. This restriction does not apply to a release to a court, a law enforcement agency, or other governmental agency, or a person who has been issued a requester code pursuant to Section 1810.2.
(c)
Any person providing the department with a mailing address shall declare, under penalty of perjury, that the mailing address is a valid, existing, and accurate mailing address and shall consent to receive service of process pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 415.20, subdivision (a) of Section 415.30, and Section 416.90 of the Code of Civil Procedure at the mailing address.
(d)
(1)
Any registration or driver’s license record of a person may be suppressed from any other person, except those persons specified in subdivision (a), if the person requesting the suppression submits either of the following:
(A)
A certificate or identification card issued to the person as a program participant by the Secretary of State pursuant to Chapter 3.1 (commencing with Section 6205) of Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code.
(B)
Verification acceptable to the department that he or she has reasonable cause to believe either of the following:
(i)
That he or she is the subject of stalking, as specified in Section 1708.7 of the Civil Code or Section 646.9 of the Penal Code.
(ii)
That there exists a threat of death or great bodily injury to his or her person, as defined in Section 12022.7 of the Penal Code.
(2)
Upon suppression of a record, each request for information about that record shall be authorized by the subject of the record or verified as legitimate by other investigative means by the department before the information is released.
(e)
(1)
The suppression of a record pursuant to a verification under subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (d) shall occur for one year after approval by the department. Not less than 60 days prior to the date the suppression of the record would otherwise expire, the department shall notify the subject of the record of its impending expiration. The suppression may be continued for two additional periods of one year each if a letter is submitted to the department stating that the person continues to have a reasonable cause to believe that he or she is the subject of stalking or that there exists a threat of death or great bodily injury as described in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (d). The suppression may be additionally continued at the end of the second one-year period by submitting verification acceptable to the department. The notification described in this subdivision shall instruct the person of the method to reapply for record suppression.
(2)
The suppression of a record made in accordance with the submission of a certificate or identification card under subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (d) shall occur for four years following the submission of the certificate or identification card described in this paragraph. The suppression may be continued for an additional four-year period, and for subsequent four-year periods, upon the submission of a current certificate or identification card described in this paragraph.
(f)
For the purposes of subdivisions (d) and (e), “verification acceptable to the department” means recent police reports, court documentation, or other documentation from a law enforcement agency.
References
referencesCal. Government Code - GOV § 6205.
referencesCal. Civil Code - CIV § 1708.7.
referencesCal. Penal Code - PEN § 646.9.
referencesCal. Penal Code - PEN § 12022.7.
referencesCal. Vehicle Code - VEH § 1808.22.
referencesCal. Vehicle Code - VEH § 1810.2.
referencesCal. Vehicle Code - VEH § 415.20.
referencesCal. Vehicle Code - VEH § 415.30.
referencesCal. Vehicle Code - VEH § 416.90.
Source: CA Legislative Counsel Bulk DataURL: https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/pubinfo_2025.zipFetched: 6/27/2026