The American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA) is a non-governmental, voluntary, tax-exempt, nonprofit educational association. AAMVA is a private corporation which strives to develop model programs in motor vehicle administration, police traffic services, and highway safety.
The association serves as an information clearinghouse for these same disciplines, and acts as the international spokesperson for these interests. The association is composed of motor vehicle and law enforcement administrators and executives from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Canadian territories and provinces. Although Canadian jurisdictions are members of AAMVA, Canada also has a distinctly separate but similar organization, the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators (CCMTA), which more directly establishes governance of driver & vehicle matters for provinces and territories. At least two Mexican states have been AAMVA members at some time. The U.S. Virgin Islands are current members of AAMVA as well as the District of Columbia.
The association is divided into four separate regions, primarily by geography, encompassing all North American members. Each region holds annual meetings with the entire membership meeting once per year. Within the membership are committees and task forces which meet typically on a quarterly basis.
Methodology
As an association representing the state and provincial officials in the United States and Canada who administer and enforce motor vehicle laws, AAMVA facilitates communication and fosters standardization among member jurisdictions concerning traffic safety, titling of motor vehicles, and licensing drivers. AAMVA represents its U.S. and Canadian membership by working collaboratively to support and improve motor vehicle administration, safety, identification security and law enforcement. AAMVA also communicates the consensus views of members to the public, state legislatures, Congress, and other organizations such as the American Trucking Association, the National Conference of State Legislatures, and the National Governors Organization.
Some of the items found in AAMVA's policy statements include:
#states' participation in the proposed
Driver License Agreement
In the United States, the Driver License Agreement (DLA) is an interstate compact written by the Joint Executive Board of the Driver License Compact (DLC) and the Non-Resident Violator Compact (NRVC) with staff support provided by the American Asso ...
#passing laws against Radar/Laser Detectors and Jammers
#regulating tinted windows
#states issuing front/back license plates±
The AAMVA also publishes the technical standards for
driver's licenses
A driver's license is a legal authorization, or the official document confirming such an authorization, for a specific individual to operate one or more types of motorized vehicles—such as motorcycles, cars, trucks, or buses—on a public r ...
compliant with the Real ID Act including anti-
counterfeit
To counterfeit means to imitate something authentic, with the intent to steal, destroy, or replace the original, for use in illegal transactions, or otherwise to deceive individuals into believing that the fake is of equal or greater value tha ...
ing measures and
machine-readable technologies such as a
PDF417
PDF417 is a stacked linear barcode format used in a variety of applications such as transport, identification cards, and inventory management. "PDF" stands for Portable Data File. The "417" signifies that each pattern in the code consists of 4 ...
barcode
A barcode or bar code is a method of representing data in a visual, machine-readable form. Initially, barcodes represented data by varying the widths, spacings and sizes of parallel lines. These barcodes, now commonly referred to as linear or o ...
on the reverse side. Many state issued driving permits and ID cards display small digits next to each data field. This is required by the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators’ design standard and has been adopted by many US states. The newest card design standard released is the 2020 AAMVA DL/ID Card Design Standard (CDS), which supersedes the 2016 standard.
The AAMVA also operates the
Commercial Driver's License Information System (CDLIS), which is a system that enables jurisdictions to exchange commercial driver information, including out-of-state convictions, in accordance with the Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Act and the Motor Carrier Safety Improvement Act. AAMVA also supports the Problem Driver Pointer System, which is a system that enables jurisdictions to report serious convictions and withdrawals of drivers to the National Driver Register operated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
AAMVA also oversees the International Registration Plan. They provide staff support to the Joint Executive Board for the
Driver License Compact
The Driver License Compact is an agreement between states in the United States of America. The compact is used to exchange data between motorist's home state and a state where the motorist incurred a vehicular violation. Not all states are members, ...
and
Non-Resident Violator Compact
The Non-Resident Violator Compact (NRVC) is a United States interstate compact used by 44 states and Washington, D.C. to process traffic citations across state borders.
When a motorist is cited in another member state and chooses not to respond to ...
and the
Driver License Agreement
In the United States, the Driver License Agreement (DLA) is an interstate compact written by the Joint Executive Board of the Driver License Compact (DLC) and the Non-Resident Violator Compact (NRVC) with staff support provided by the American Asso ...
.
AAMVA also maintains the
National Motor Vehicle Title Information System (NMVTIS) which enables vehicle titling agencies to verify the information on a title with the issuing state's electronic records in order to reduce vehicle theft and fraud. The ''
Anti Car Theft Act of 1992
Anti may refer to:
*Anti-, a prefix meaning "against"
*Änti, or Antaeus, a half-giant in Greek and Berber mythology
*A false reading of ''Nemty'', the name of the ferryman who carried Isis to Set's island in Egyptian mythology
*Áńt’į, or co ...
'' specified that the information within NMVTIS be available to federal, state, and local law enforcement officials, insurance carriers, and other prospective purchasers (e.g., individuals, auction companies, and used car dealers). By making this information available across jurisdictions, forms of title fraud such as "title washing" are reduced. Title washing occurs when the condition of a vehicle due to flood, junk, or salvage (known as a "brand"), as previously documented by a state, is lost when the title travels to another state putting an unsuspecting buyer at risk of paying more than a vehicle is worth or operating a vehicle inadequately repaired and potentially unsafe to drive.
History
The organization came into existence in 1933 with the idea of standardizing driver's licensing and traffic laws. In more recent years, AAMVA has pushed very hard for the one driver, one license, one record concept as found in the
Driver License Compact
The Driver License Compact is an agreement between states in the United States of America. The compact is used to exchange data between motorist's home state and a state where the motorist incurred a vehicular violation. Not all states are members, ...
and the newly created
Driver License Agreement
In the United States, the Driver License Agreement (DLA) is an interstate compact written by the Joint Executive Board of the Driver License Compact (DLC) and the Non-Resident Violator Compact (NRVC) with staff support provided by the American Asso ...
, especially since the events of
September 11, 2001
The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commerc ...
.
Meetings
Each year, the administration holds a meeting somewhere in the U.S., with the state hosting making special license plates for all attendees.
References
External links
*
AAMVA BlogAAMVA Podcast
{{authority control
Road transportation in the United States
Road transport in Canada
Road transportation in Mexico