Washington, August 22, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
A US federal judge has temporarily barred the Trump administration from obtaining a database containing sensitive personal information of more than 17 million commercial drivers, including Social Security and driving licence numbers.
The temporary restraining order also prevents the administration from withholding more than $10 million in federal funding from the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA) if the organisation declines to hand over the database, Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones said.
Jones and a coalition of state attorneys general had challenged demands from the US Department of Transportation, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and the Department of Homeland Security.
The court order blocks the Transportation Department from acquiring the records and effectively pauses a Homeland Security subpoena while the legal challenge proceeds, according to the Virginia attorney general’s office.
The dispute centres on the Commercial Driver’s License Information System (CDLIS), established by Congress in 1986 to enable states to share information about commercial licence applicants and determine whether applicants hold licences in other states.
Since 1988, the Transportation Department has contracted AAMVA, a private non-profit organisation, to operate CDLIS on behalf of participating states.
Before issuing a commercial driving licence, states use the system to verify an applicant’s identity, medical fitness, immigration status and licensing and driving history. The database contains names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, driving licence numbers and the states that supplied the information.
The attorneys general filed two related lawsuits last week. One challenges the Transportation Department, FMCSA and AAMVA, while the other targets Homeland Security’s efforts to obtain the records.
The coalition alleges that federal agencies are violating privacy laws by attempting to create a separate database from state-owned records and argues that the proposed system would lack adequate safeguards for Social Security numbers and other personal information. It also claims the initiative was pursued without public notice.
Jones said the coalition would seek a preliminary injunction preventing the transfer of the records while the litigation continues.
Attorneys general from Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin, along with the District of Columbia and Pennsylvania, joined the legal action. Minnesota’s attorney general joined the case involving Homeland Security.
The federal government’s position was not included in the material released by Jones’ office.
Commercial driving licence records are primarily created and maintained by individual states, although federal regulations establish nationwide standards for drivers of trucks, buses and other large commercial vehicles.
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