We were recently working on a case in which we needed to obtain a driving record abstract for an individual in Illinois.
We found out that in order to obtain a driving record abstract, you need a driver’s license number, which we didn’t have.
In many states, private investigators can obtain a driving record abstract with simply a name and date of birth. Depending on the state, an investigator may have direct access to the state Department of Motor Vehicles record database. (In every case, there must be a permissible purpose as per the Drivers Privacy Protection Act.)
Every state is different, however. In Connecticut, the request must be submitted in person with the person’s name, date of birth and most recent address. It takes a few weeks to get the record back.
In New York, however, a driver’s abstract can be searched by name and date of birth, or just by the name.
In other states — Illinois, for example — records can be searched only by driver’s license number.
That’s where the Driver’s License Calculator comes in. Apparently, in certain states, the algorithm used to generate the driver’s license numbers is always the same. By entering details about the person, including name, date of birth and gender, you can determine the unique driver’s license identification number.
We entered all the information on our subject in Illinois and voila! It worked. Within a few minutes, I submitted the request to the investigator in Illinois and had the record in a few hours.
The site has also set up algorithms for Florida, Wisconsin, Maryland, New Hampshire and Washington.
With a permissible purpose, name and date of birth, an investigator can identify a driver’s license number in Illinois … or Florida, Wisconsin, Maryland, New Hampshire or Washington.
Brian,
FYI, I used to be a Washingtonian before they found out I was from California and asked me to leave. So I tried the website with my info, and son of a b*&^$, it pulled up my old WDL number. I’d say thank you again, but now it’s… Where do you keep finding this sh…stuff?
I can’t take much credit for this one; a colleague of mine found it. But it’s come in handy one more than a few occasions.