National Driver Register (NDR)

The National Driver Register Act of 1982, Title 49 U.S.C., Subtitle VI, Part A, Chapter 303 (as amended) requires the Secretary of Transportation (NHTSA by delegation) to maintain a National Driver Register (NDR) to assist the State chief driver licensing officials in the exchange of information about the motor vehicle driving records of individuals. The chief driver licensing official of a participating State must report to the NDR identification information regarding any individual who is denied a motor vehicle operator’s license for cause, whose motor vehicle operator’s license is withdrawn for cause, or who is convicted of certain serious motor vehicle related offenses (specified in the Act at 49 U.S.C. 30304) or comparable offenses. (23 U.S.C. 30304(a); 23 CFR 1327, Appendix A). Participating States are required to submit an inquiry to the NDR on all applicants for driver’s licenses before issuing a license to the applicant. In addition, when requested by other authorized users (e.g., the Federal Aviation Administration), participating States are required to submit inquires to the NDR and provide responses to the other authorized users of the NDR for transportation safety purposes. All 50 States and the District of Columbia participate in the NDR. The NDR maintains the computerized database known as the Problem Driver Pointer System (PDPS) which contains information on individuals whose privilege to operate a motor vehicle has been revoked, suspended, canceled, or denied or who have been convicted of serious traffic-related offenses. The records maintained at the NDR consist of identification information including name, date of birth, sex, driver license number, and reporting State which is collected on a daily basis. States use interactive communication for their routine transactions with the NDR which allows them to submit the required information automatically at the same time the individual’s information is entered into the State’s system. Specifically, when an individual applies for a driver’s license, an inquiry is automatically transmitted to the NDR when the driver’s application is entered into the State’s system. Likewise, when a State records license actions that have been taken against an individual that require reporting to the NDR, a transaction submitting the individual’s identification information is automatically generated and transmitted to the NDR. The annual burden has increased from 13,739 hours to 13,763 (an increase of 24 hours). The estimate for burden hours and cost has increased due to the increase of clean files.

The latest form for National Driver Register (NDR) expires 2028-11-30 and can be found here.

Adding, Updating, or Deleting Records

Federal Enterprise Architecture: Transportation - Ground Transportation