Most states in the U.S. have reciprocal agreements with each other regarding motor vehicle violation convictions of drivers. The shared information may be about a minor offense, such as a speeding ticket, or a major offense, such as a DUI.
Kentucky Speeding Ticket 'Will it affect your insurance rates if you got a speeding ticket in Kentucky but live in another state, if this is your first ticket and you are 29?' Out of state. A speeding ticket is a moving violation as opposed to a parking ticket, and therefore is likely to be of interest to many more state agencies. When you don't pay the ticket and miss your court date a bench warrant will be issued. The longer this condition persists the more the fine increases.
The main reciprocal agreements, with regards to traffic violations, are the Drivers License Compact (DLC) and Non-Resident Violator Compact (NRVC). There is also the Drivers License Agreement (DLA); however, it doesn't yet have the state membership that the other two compacts currently have.
Drivers License Compact
States that are members of the DLC are required to report traffic ticket convictions received by a motorist back to the state where the driver is licensed. The driver's home state then determines if the traffic offense will be placed on the person's driving record and if any points will be assessed.
Current members of the DLC are:
The members include all states except:
Massachussetts passed a law in 1988 that would allow the state to participate in the DLC, but it never actually joined the database network, according to several lawyers that specialize in traffic violations. In March of 2016, for instance, a Rhode Island driver who had his licensed permanently revoked after seven DUI arrests in that state, was cited for drunken driving in Massachusetts where he had obtained a new license. His Massachusetts license was suspended after the violation, according to several news reports.
Informal out-of-state sharing agreements exist in some states
Even if your state isn't part of the DLC, an out-of-state ticket may still follow you home, because most of these states have informal agreements with other states to exchange information regarding traffic tickets.
Non-Resident Violator Compact
The Non-Resident Violator Compact requires member states to suspend the driver's license of those who get traffic tickets for moving violations in other states and fail to pay them or otherwise legally take care of them. It does not appy to vehicle registration or parking citations.
Current members of the NRVC include:
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wyoming
NRVC members include all states except:
- Alaska
- California
- Michigan
- Montana
- Oregon
- Wisconsin
Again, though, each state may have its own agreements with other states and may still suspend or penalize a driver who doesn't pay their out-of-state traffic ticket.
![State State](/uploads/1/2/5/5/125541603/790062168.jpg)
Driver License Agreement
In the effort to establish a one-driver, one-record system, the Driver License Agreement (DLA) hopes to combine the DLC and NRVC and become a more efficient and effective agreement for the jurisdictions to share and transmit driver and conviction information.
States haven't gravitated to the DLA, however -- only Arkansas, Connecticut and Massachusetts have signed up as members. There is legislature in other states pending though. Unlike the DLC and NRVC, the provinces and territories of Canada, as well as the states/federal district of Mexico, can participate in the DLA.
National Driver Register
There is also the National Driver Register (NDR) that all states and the District of Columbia take part in. The NDR contains records on those who have had their licenses revoked or suspended, or who have been convicted of serious traffic violations (such as a DUI) throughout the United States.
When a person applies for a driver's license, the state DMV should check to see if that individual's name is in the NDR file. If that person has been reported to the NDR as a problem driver, a license may be denied until the issue has taken care of and their license has been reinstated in the state that has the hold on their license.
For more information about driving records in your home state, visit our state car insurance rates page and click on your state.