Oregon’s Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) brings in millions of dollars a year selling drivers’ personal information to qualified buyers, ranging from insurance companies to private investigators.

State law outlines 19 exceptions for qualified entities to buy the personal information from the state or so-called “bulk buyers” who buy it from the DMV.

“The majority of DMV records are considered a public record and are available by making a request and paying a fee,” said Robert Craig Daniels, the DMV Records Section Manager and Privacy Officer.

Daniels and his team process the requests for personal information. Records show the DMV has processed nearly seven million requests for this information since 2020, charging those buyers more than $60 million across the same time period. A DMV spokesperson said the money is split between the DMV, ODOT, and the state agency that maintains the data.