Attorney General Phil Weiser sues Trump administration for unlawfully demanding personal info of commercial driver's license holders

Attorney General Phil Weiser sues Trump administration for unlawfully demanding personal info of commercial driver's license holders

Aug. 13, 2026 (DENVER) - Attorney General Phil Weiser joined a coalition of 22 attorneys general and the state of Pennsylvania today in filing two lawsuits against the Trump administration for demanding production of a database of state-owned records containing the sensitive personal information of 17 million commercial drivers and threatening to terminate more than $10 million in federal funding to a national association that manages the database if the organization refuses to turn it over.

The lawsuits claim the U.S. Department of Transportation, the Federal Motor Safety Carrier Administration (FMSCA), and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security are violating multiple federal privacy laws by secretly setting up their own database with records extorted from the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA) with no guardrails on the use or sharing of drivers' Social Security numbers and other personal information, and no notice to the public. The demand violates the Administrative Procedure Act because the federal government has no legitimate need to take over this database of state records, and it failed to consult the states before making this drastic change, according to the lawsuits.

"The federal government claims it needs this sensitive personal data so that it can verify CDL validity and conduct motor carrier safety reviews. The states carry out those functions, not the federal government. Once Colorado's data is in FMCSA's hands, we would lose control and oversight of confidential records. The federal government has not made any promises to keep Coloradans' data confidential; if fact, it has said that it can disclose it to any other federal agency. Coloradans entrust the state with their personal data when they apply for a commercial driver's license. The data demand is unlawful and we're taking action to have it overturned before the August 17 deadline," said Attorney General Weiser.

To approve a CDL application, states validate the driver's identity, medical fitness, immigration status and each applicant's licensing and driving history in any state where the driver could have been licensed. This important public safety work is the responsibility of the states, not the federal government. Once a license is issued, states maintain a record in the Commercial Driver's License Information System, or CDLIS, of each driver that includes personally identifiable information such as the driver's name, date of birth, Social Security number, driver's license number and the name of state that provided the record.

Despite the states' ownership of the personal data stored in CDLIS, FMSCA sent a letter to AAMVA, making the unprecedented demand that the organization turn over data for every driver in CDLIS going back five years. When AAMVA voiced its concerns about the new directive, FMSCA made an explicit threat to terminate all the group's federal grants and contracts. DHS then stepped up the pressure campaign against AAMVA by serving it an administrative subpoena, demanding it produce the data by Monday, August 17, requiring the coalition of states to seek an emergency order to prevent the data from being turned over.

Joining Attorney General Weiser in filing these lawsuits are attorneys general of Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin, as well as the state of Pennsylvania. The state of Minnesota joined the case against DHS.

Read a copy of the complaint (PDF).

Read the motion to quash the DHS subpoena (PDF).

###

Media Contact:
Lawrence Pacheco
Chief Communications Officer
(720) 508-6553 office
[email protected]