California Driving Record: How to Get Your MVR

What Is a California Driving Record (MVR)?

Your Motor Vehicle Report is the DMV’s official history of your driving privilege.

Your California driving record — also called an MVR (Motor Vehicle Report) — is the official document the DMV keeps on every licensed driver. It lists your license status, traffic convictions, departmental actions (suspensions, revocations, restrictions), and reported accidents.

This is the record on the driver, not the record on the car. If you need the DMV’s file on a vehicle — its title, brands, lienholder, and registration history — see our California vehicle records guide.

Four groups pull this record regularly:

• You — to check your points, confirm a suspension is cleared, or review what’s visible before a job application.
• Insurers — to set your premiums. Tickets and at-fault accidents typically raise rates for 3 years.
• Employers — especially for driving jobs. Ask first — some accept the $2 copy, some require certified.
• Courts — always require the certified $5 copy.

What’s On Your Record

Three categories of information, each kept for a set number of years.

Retention rules of thumb: standard 1-point violations (speeding, red light) stay 3 years. Major 2-point violations (DUI, reckless driving, hit-and-run, 100+ mph) stay 10 years. At-fault accidents stay 3 years.

3 Ways to Get Your Record — Compared

Pick the method that fits your deadline and who’s asking for it.

How to Get It Online — Step by Step

The $2 instant method. Have your printer ready before you start.

1. Create or sign in to MyDMV. Go to dmv.ca.gov and sign in to your free MyDMV account (one-time identity verification required).
2. Select “Driver’s Record Request.” Find it under Online Services.
3. Enter your details. Driver’s license number and identifying information.
4. Pay $2. Credit/debit card (+1.95% fee) or bank account (no fee).
5. PRINT IMMEDIATELY. The system shows your record once — download or print it right away.

How to Get It by Mail (INF 1125)

The $5 certified method — allow several weeks; the DMV publishes no official timeline.

1. Get form INF 1125 — “Request for Your Own Driver License/ID or Vehicle/Vessel Registration Information Record.” Download it from dmv.ca.gov or pick one up at any field office.
2. Fill it out completely. Include your driver’s license number and current address.
3. Write “Certified Driver Record” at the top so it’s processed as an official copy.
4. Enclose $5 — check or money order payable to “DMV.” Write your driver’s license number on the check.
5. Mail to:
   Department of Motor Vehicles
   Information Release Unit G199
   P.O. Box 944247
   Sacramento, CA 94244-2470

How to Get It In Person

Same-day certified copy at any field office.

Bring a completed INF 1125 and photo ID to any DMV field office. Pay $5 (cash or debit accepted) and a clerk prints your certified record on the spot. This is the fastest way to get an official copy — useful when a job or court needs it today.

Certified vs Uncertified — Which Do You Need?

Match the copy type to who’s asking.

The H-6 Printout: What It Was — and What Replaced It

If someone asked you for an H-6, read this first.

Before March 20, 2019, the California DMV issued more than one flavour of driver record. The “H-6” — also called the “10-year record” — was the longest version: on top of the public record it included information intended for internal department purposes. The shorter public printout was known as the K4. Employers, transit agencies, and school districts wrote “H-6” into their hiring checklists because the H-6 was the most complete version available, and the name stuck.

Effective March 20, 2019, the DMV stopped providing the H-6 format entirely. Its own record-request page says so plainly: driver records previously known as an “H6” or “10-year record,” which contained internal DMV information, are no longer available. Current records include only reportable information under Vehicle Code §1808 — convictions (for three, seven, or ten years), departmental actions, and accidents. There is no longer a “long” version and a “short” version to choose between. There is one record, in certified or uncertified form, and it costs $2 online or $5 by mail or in person.

So why does everyone still ask for an H-6? Because the paperwork never caught up. Real, still-live employer hiring packets demand an “H-6” by name. The Gold Coast Transit District in Ventura County tells applicants to submit an original 10-year history record check (H-6), warns that “there is no substitute for a current ‘H6’,” and says a K4 “will not be accepted.” The Twin Rivers Unified School District in Sacramento asks commercial-driver applicants for a current (within 30 days) DMV H-6 10-year driving history report before hiring. These packets describe a product the DMV has not sold since 2019 — but a job applicant cannot argue with a hiring packet. What you can do is give them the right replacement and explain it in one sentence.

Two more things people get wrong about the old names. First, “K4” is a legacy term for the shorter printout — the DMV’s own current pages do not use “K4” as a product name, so if a form says “K4” it means the same current record, not a different product. Do not pay anyone extra for a “K4” instead of an “H-6”: there is no choice to make anymore. Second, there is no DMV “H6 form” to fill in. Some form-seller sites market a free fillable “H6 printout” PDF — that is a blank form, not a record. The H-6 was a printout the DMV issued, never a form you completed, and the only official ways to get your record today are the three channels on this page.

H-6 Printout Cost: The Full Breakdown

Every channel, total out of pocket — no hidden fees.

The fee is set by the California Code of Regulations, and the DMV quotes it on its own record-request page: $2 for each record requested by electronic interface (CCR §350.44(c)(1)) and $5 for each record requested by mail (CCR §350.44(c)(2)). Certification — the DMV stamping the record as a true copy — costs nothing extra. What changes the total is how you pay: card payments carry a service fee, bank payments do not.

Worked out, the totals look like this:

1. Cheapest possible record: $2.00 flat. Online, paid directly from your bank account (eCheck) — no service fee at all. This is the correct “cheapest” answer.
2. Online by card: $2.04. $2.00 plus the 1.95% card fee is $2.00 + $0.039, which rounds to $2.04. Four cents — worth stating plainly, because readers distrust “hidden fees” and this one is four cents.
3. Certified by mail: $5.00 plus postage. A $5 check or money order with form INF 1125. If you have no cheques, a money order adds its own purchase cost, which varies by issuer.
4. Certified in person, paying cash: $5.00 flat. The cheapest certified route and the fastest — same-day, on the spot.
5. Certified in person, paying by card: about $5.11. $5.00 plus the 2.1% in-office card fee is $5.00 + $0.105. The DMV’s own till rounding is not published, so treat this as “about” $5.11, never as an exact figure.
6. The expensive mistake: $6.12. Close the online confirmation page before printing and the $2 is spent and the record is gone — you must buy it again. Two failed attempts plus one success, all by card, is 3 × $2.04 = $6.12 for a record that should have cost $2.04. Have your printer on and ready before you pay.
7. Two records on one INF 1125: $10. The fee is $5 per record, not per form — so a driver record plus a vehicle record on the same form costs $5 + $5.

What Your Printout Shows — and How Long Each Item Stays

The DMV’s own retention schedule, in one place.

Your printout has three kinds of entries — convictions, departmental actions, and accidents — and each kind stays visible for a set number of years. The DMV publishes the full schedule on its record-request page, and no competitor guide reproduces it completely. A few words the DMV itself defines on that page, so the schedule reads clearly: an abstract is a court document; an action is your privilege being cancelled, suspended, revoked, or restricted; the conviction date is the date the court ruled; FTA means failure to appear, FTP means failure to pay a fine; and the violation date is the date the incident happened. Where the schedule says “whichever is earliest,” that chain matters — do not simplify it into a single number.

Two things in that table surprise most readers. First, the word “most”: the DMV says most 2-point violations report for 10 years, not all of them — so if a guide states a flat “7 years” for 2-point violations, it is contradicting the DMV. Second, the 55-year figures for commercial drivers are real and official: the most serious commercial items stay on the record effectively for life. And one detail for anyone who took traffic school: a conviction based on traffic-school attendance is reported when there is a second conviction in an 18-month period (CVC §§1803.5 and 1808.7). If the codes on your printout still confuse you, our guide to reading your California driving record decodes them field by field.

INF 1125, Section by Section

The form behind the $5 certified copy.

Form INF 1125 — “Request for Your Own Driver License/Identification Card (DL/ID) or Vehicle/Vessel Registration (VR) Record,” current revision 9/2020 — is the form for your own record only. The header warns you not to complete it unless you are requesting your own DL/ID record or are the current vehicle or vessel owner on file. Someone else’s record needs a different form, INF 70. Here is what each section asks for.

1. Section 1 — what you are asking for (the money section). In-person requests are for current records only, $5.00 for each record — complete Sections 2, 5 and/or 6, and 7. Mail-in requests cover all allowable records and documents — complete Sections 2, 3 and/or 4, 7, and 8, and mail the form to Department of Motor Vehicles, Public Operations – MS G199, P.O. Box 944247, Sacramento, CA 94244–2470. Tick the box to certify the record as a true copy — certification costs nothing extra. The address appears on the record only if the address you give in Section 2 matches the record on file, and there is a checkbox to redact the address even if it matches.
2. Section 2 — your details. Full legal name (first, middle initial, last), daytime telephone number, address, city, state, and ZIP code. All required — an incomplete Section 2 is the most common reason a mailed request comes back.
3. Section 3 (mail) — the DL/ID record. Give your driver licence or ID card number, or your date of birth. Then tick “Automated record (computer printout) — $5 per record” and “Current Record.” This is the one almost everyone wants. The same section also offers a photocopy of documents for $20 per copy (licence or ID photo, application, guarantor’s signature search), and a First Issue Date Letter at no additional fee.
4. Section 4 (mail) — the vehicle or vessel record. Only if you also want a vehicle record: give the California licence plate or CF number, or the vehicle or hull ID number. An automated record is $5 per record; photocopies on file are $20 per year. You can also ask for all vehicles or vessels registered under your name and address.
5. Sections 5–6 (in person) — the counter equivalents of Sections 3–4. Section 5 is the DL/ID record (number or date of birth required); Section 6 is the vehicle or vessel record (plate, CF number, or VIN required). In-person filers complete these instead of Sections 3–4.
6. Section 7 — signature. You certify under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California that the foregoing is true and correct. Sign, date, and add your DL/ID number. An unsigned form is the classic hold-up — sign it before you mail it.
7. Section 8 — mailing label. Do not detach. This is the return label the DMV uses to send your record back — fill it in, or the record has nowhere to go.

Which Copy Does Your Employer, Insurer, or Court Need?

Ask the requester before you pay.

Employers hiring drivers. California law (CVC §1808.1) requires an employer of a driver of a specified vehicle — Class A or B, Class C with endorsements, charter and passenger carriers, and similar — to obtain a report showing the driver’s current public record. The report is “current” only if it was issued less than 30 days before the date the employer employs the driver. The employer must review it, sign and date it, keep it at the place of business, and then enrol the driver in the pull-notice system, which pushes automatic updates on new convictions, failures to appear, accidents, suspensions, and revocations — with a periodic report at least every 12 months. The practical upshot: time your $5 request so it is still inside the 30-day window when you hand it over, and do not pull it “a few months ago” and expect it to count. This is also why the transit and school-district packets quoted above insist on a record issued within the last 30 days.

Employers hiring for non-driving jobs. The 30-day rule does not apply, and most such employers use a background-check company, which needs your consent under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Ask the employer which copy they accept before you pay: the $2 online copy is often enough for an initial check, but some employers — and all the transit and school-district packets above — demand the certified original.

Insurers. They pull your record themselves with a DMV requester code; they do not ask you to bring a printout. Your $2 online copy shows you the same data they see, which is useful before you shop for a quote. One thing to know: the DMV’s alcohol-related abstracts are sealed on your copy but are still reported to insurers that hold requester codes.

Courts. Always the $5 certified copy. No exceptions worth debating — if a court asks for your record, order certified.

Out-of-state transfers. Another state’s DMV will usually want the certified copy. Certified is the safe default whenever a government agency is the requester.

Yourself. Checking your points, confirming a suspension is cleared, or reviewing what is visible before a job application — the $2 online copy is unambiguously enough. To work out what the convictions on your record mean for your licence, see our California point system guide, and to check whether your licence is currently valid or suspended, see how to check your license status.

Mistakes That Make You Pay Twice

The $2 record only ever gets expensive when something goes wrong.

• Closing the confirmation page before printing. The online record is view-and-print only, one chance. Close the page and the $2 is gone — you pay again. Print or save it the moment it appears.
• Ordering the $2 uncertified copy when the requester needs certified. You pay $2, the employer or court rejects it, and you pay $5 more. Ask first: certified or uncertified, and how fresh does it need to be?
• Paying a third-party website to “get” your record. They file the same $2 or $5 request you would file yourself and charge you a markup for it. The only official channels are dmv.ca.gov (online) and form INF 1125 (mail or in person). The same goes for “free H6 PDF” sellers — there is no free official record, and there is no H-6 form to download.
• Mailing an unsigned INF 1125, or sending cash. The form must be signed under penalty of perjury (Section 7), and cash is not accepted by mail. Either mistake sends the form back and costs you weeks.
• Putting the wrong address in Section 2. Your address appears on the printed record only if the address you give matches the DMV’s file. A stale address means a printout without your address on it — and a second $5 request to fix it.
• Chasing a kiosk or phone order. The DMV’s own record page lists three channels — online, mail, and in person — and no others. Do not pay anyone who promises a kiosk or phone shortcut.

How to Read Your Record

What the codes and sections actually mean.

Your record is organized into sections. Here’s what to look for:

• License status — valid, suspended, revoked, or expired, with effective dates.
• Convictions — each lists the violation code, date, court, and point count (1 or 2 points). A child-restraint conviction, for example, adds 1 point — see our California car seat law 2027 guide for the fines and the five-step test.
• Departmental actions — suspensions or restrictions with start/end dates and the reason.
• Accidents — date and fault determination where reported.

A “dismissed” ticket generally won’t appear as a conviction — but the arrest or citation itself may appear in other contexts. If something looks wrong, see the error-correction section below. For a full field-by-field walkthrough of every section, code, and abbreviation on the document, see our guide on how to read your California driving record.

Points & NOTS Thresholds

California’s Negligent Operator Treatment System in 30 seconds.

The DMV tracks points over rolling windows. Hit a threshold and the DMV acts:

1-point violations (speeding, running a red light, improper lane change) stay on your record 3 years. 2-point violations (DUI, reckless driving, hit-and-run, 100+ mph) stay 10 years.

Can You Get Someone Else’s Record?

Short answer: no — not freely.

California driving records are protected. You can only obtain your own record with the methods above. Getting someone else’s record requires a permissible purpose under the law (employers with consent, insurers, courts, law enforcement) using form INF 70 — and misuse carries civil and misdemeanor liability.

For Employers

Hiring drivers? Here’s the compliant path.

Employers may check an applicant’s record with the applicant’s consent. California also runs the EPN (Employer Pull Notice) program, which automatically notifies enrolled employers of new convictions, suspensions, or accidents for their drivers. If you’re a job applicant: the $2 online copy is usually enough for initial background checks, but confirm with the employer whether they need certified.

Fixing Errors on Your Record

Wrong ticket? Wrong dates? Here’s how to dispute.

• DL 207 — Report of Incorrect Record (general errors).
• DL 207A — traffic-collision version for accident errors.
• DL 157 — Abstract/Document Error Form, completed by the court or law enforcement that reported the item.

File the appropriate form with supporting documents. If a court dismissed your ticket but it still shows, the court must submit the correction — the DMV can only update what the reporting agency confirms.

California Driving Record: FAQs

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