OLYMPIA, Wash. — Washington Governor Bob Ferguson signed SB 6002, the Driver Privacy Act, on March 30, 2026, making Washington the first state in the nation to ban government agencies from purchasing or selling automated license plate recognition (ALPR) data — including data collected by private repossession networks.
What the Law Does
The Driver Privacy Act imposes four core restrictions that directly affect the repossession industry’s ALPR ecosystem:
- Warrant requirement: Law enforcement must obtain a judicial warrant before accessing ALPR data held by private entities, including repossession networks that operate DRN, Flock Safety, and similar ALPR platforms.
- Purchase ban: State and local government agencies are prohibited from buying or selling ALPR data from private companies.
- Retention limit: Government agencies may retain ALPR data for no more than 21 days.
- Immigration enforcement prohibition: ALPR systems may not be used for immigration enforcement purposes.
Scope and Limitations
The law does not restrict private recovery agencies from collecting and using ALPR data for their own repossession operations. Agencies in Washington may continue scanning license plates, maintaining proprietary databases, and using plate data to locate vehicles for lawful repossession. What changes is the relationship between private ALPR networks and government agencies: law enforcement can no longer purchase bulk access to repo-industry plate scan data without a court order.
Washington SB 6002 sets a national precedent. DRN (Motorola Solutions) and Flock Safety generate significant revenue by selling or licensing access to their pooled private-sector ALPR data to law enforcement agencies. The Washington law eliminates that revenue channel in the state — and creates a legal model that privacy advocates in California, New York, and Illinois are expected to pursue in 2026 legislative sessions. For recovery agencies operating ALPR networks, the law does not restrict their core operations but signals that the era of unrestricted government access to private repo plate data may be ending state by state.
Industry Context
The Driver Privacy Act comes amid intensifying scrutiny of ALPR data practices across the country. In May 2026, FBI procurement documents revealed the bureau seeking up to $36 million for nationwide ALPR access — explicitly naming repossession vendors as data sources — drawing immediate pushback from privacy organizations. A class action against DRN (Mata v. Digital Recognition Network) is currently in trial in San Diego County Superior Court, with plaintiffs seeking up to $57 billion in damages for alleged violations of California’s ALPR statute.
Recovery agencies operating in Washington should document that their ALPR data use complies with the new law’s framework. Ensure any data-sharing agreements with law enforcement are reviewed: providing data in response to a warrant is permissible; selling or licensing bulk data access to government agencies is not. Agencies contracting with DRN, Flock Safety, or similar ALPR aggregators should confirm that their vendor has adjusted its data-sharing practices to comply with Washington law.
Source: Washington SB 6002 (Driver Privacy Act), signed March 30, 2026. Coverage via KOMO News and ACLU-WA.
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