Your AB 60 Application, Your Documents, and the Privacy Rules in the Statute

People ask this before they apply, and the honest answer is the text of the law rather than reassurance. Below is what Vehicle Code section 12801.9 says, piece by piece, followed by what an insurance company does and does not receive. This is a plain reading of a statute, not legal advice; if your question is about your own immigration situation, an immigration attorney is the right person to ask.

The information on your application

Subdivision (i) is one sentence: information collected under the section "is not a public record and shall not be disclosed by the department, except as required by law." In other words, the DMV cannot hand out what you put on the application the way it publishes general statistics, and anyone requesting it has to point to a law that requires its release.

The documents you show

Subdivision (j) is narrower and more specific. The documents you provide to prove identity or residency are not public records and may be disclosed only in three situations:

1. In response to a subpoena for individual records in a criminal proceeding.
2. In response to a court order.
3. In response to a law enforcement request to address an urgent health or safety need, where the agency certifies in writing the specific circumstances that do not allow time to get a court order.

The same subdivision then adds that immigration enforcement, as defined in Government Code section 7284.4, "does not constitute an urgent health and safety need" for these purposes.

What the card itself can be used to prove

Subdivision (k): a license or identification card issued under this section "shall not be used as evidence of an individual's citizenship or immigration status for any purpose." The card proves you passed the tests and may drive. It is not a status document, and the law says it may not be treated as one.

Employers and government offices

• Employers that obtain your license information must treat it as private and confidential, may not disclose it to unauthorized people, and may use it only to establish identity and authorization to drive (subdivision (h)).
• State and local agencies, and programs funded by the state, may not discriminate against you for holding or presenting the card — including by notifying a law enforcement agency of your identity or that you carry the card, when that notice is not required by law or would not have been given for a regular license holder (subdivision (g)(3)).

Who sees what: a summary

What your insurance company sees

What you'll be asked for: your license number, name, date of birth, address, the vehicle, and who drives it. With the license number, the company orders your driving record, which reports convictions, departmental actions and accidents for the periods Vehicle Code section 1808 sets. That record is the same kind any licensed driver has; it does not include your application documents, and an insurer has no use for them.

What varies by insurance company: some applications have a field for a Social Security number or an ITIN, and companies differ on whether it is required. If a field is not required, you can leave it blank; if it is, ask why and whether another company would quote without it. You never need to give an insurer your consular card, utility bills or tax returns to buy a car policy.

When you are ready to price a policy, start a quote here with just the license number and the car.