Motor Vehicle Information – Registrar’s decisions and notifications

Decisions and notifications

Listed below are the decisions and notifications issued by the Registrar of Motor Vehicles.

• Registrar’s Decisions: Notification 01/2024 – New as of March 27, 2024
  • To enhance efficiency and to improve the delivery of motor vehicle services for Albertans the Registrar of Motor Vehicle Services (the “Registrar”) aims to modernize the Motor Vehicle Registry. Within this initiative the Registrar intends to release, on an ongoing basis, through Alberta registry agents a new Type I information product: the Driver's Licence History Report (DLHR). The Type I information is defined in Registrar's Decision Notification 01/2004.
  • A DLHR contains personal driving and motor vehicle Information maintained in the Motor Vehicle System (MOVES) that confirms driver's licensing status going back to May 20, 2003. The purposes of the DLHR are to assist Albertans and former Albertans to:
    • apply for licensing in another jurisdiction.
    • apply for or maintain employment.
    • apply for or maintain motor vehicle insurance; or
    • prove their Alberta licensing history in Court.
  • The DLHR automates the production of some of the most time-consuming Operator Information Confirmation Letters (OI CLs) thus speeding service delivery and reducing processing time. Customized OI CLs will continue to be produced by the Registrar when the DLHR does not address the specific need of the person making the request for this information.
• Registrar’s Decisions: Notification 01/2022
  • The Registrar of Motor Vehicle Services has developed a new Special Business Function Motor Vehicle Information Product (“SBF MVIP”) to allow the Government of Alberta’s Fleet Safety Office to cut red tape while implementing an enhanced driver safety program. Registrar’s Decisions: Notification 01/2022 amends Registrar’s Decisions: Notification 04/2020 and notifies the public about the new SBF MVIP. 
  • The Fleet Safety Office is responsible for ensuring the safety and compliant operation of the Government of Alberta’s internal fleet of vehicles and the drivers who operate them. The Fleet Safety Office is a program within the Government of Alberta already previously approved to request and receive information for a valid purpose under the Alberta Motor Vehicle Information Regulation (AMVIR) pursuant to Registrar’s Decisions: Notification 04/2020.
  • The SBF MVIP allows safety officers/administrators in the Fleet Safety Office to ascertain the driver licensing status of Alberta Government employees, or individuals who have applied for employment with the Government of Alberta, where job responsibilities include driving a Government of Alberta vehicle, in order to triage drivers for those which may present a risk to the public or other employees and identify those drivers which may need to be further assessed for additional training. Alberta Government employees, or individuals who have applied for employment with the Government of Alberta, will no longer be required to request their Standard Driver’s Abstracts through Alberta registry agents, as the Fleet Safety Office will be able to obtain the necessary information through the new SBF MVIP.
• Registrar’s Decisions: Notification 04/2020 - AMENDED
  • To permit the implementation of automatic parking solutions by Alberta municipalities the Registrar of Motor Vehicle Services (the “Registrar”) has developed 3 new Special Business Function Motor Vehicle Information Products (SBF MVIPs) and replaces Registrar’s Decision Notification 01/2018 – REPLACED in its entirety with Registrar’s Decision: Notification RDN 04/2020. The new SBF MVIPs reuse existing SBF search requests to permit community peace officers to verify the validity of disabled parking placards. To further reduce insurance fraud and the cost of motor vehicle insurance in Alberta the Registrar is approving SBF Access for Insurance Crime Prevention Bureau, a division of the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC). This will permit IBC to investigate theft, fraud, possession of stolen property or any other illegal activity, offence or crime related to or associated with motor vehicles. The Registrar’s decision is to withdraw the Registrar’s Decision Notification 01/2018 – REPLACED and replace it with Registrar’s Decision: Notification RDN 04/2020.
• Registrar’s Decisions: Notification 03/2020
  • The Registrar of Motor Vehicle Services (the “Registrar”) has further clarified the release model under s. 2(1)(m) with respect to Registrar's Decision Notification 01/2004 – AMENDED. The Registrar has relaxed the model for insurance companies. Insurance companies are large organizations with legal departments that are often involved in litigation processes. Such cases may not be related to motor vehicle accidents. Relaxing the policy to permit insurance companies to request information for the purpose of serving documents will reduce their need to retain law firms for representation in Court. This will reduce the administrative burden including operation costs for insurance companies and could further reduce insurance costs for Albertans.
• Registrar’s Decisions: Notification 02/2020
  • To further clarify the release of information to law enforcement agencies pursuant to Registrar's Decision Notification 01/2004 – AMENDED the Registrar of Motor Vehicle Services (the “Registrar”) has declared a new type of information to be released by the Registrar under s. 2(1) of AMVIR. Type V Information is released by the Registrar through Image Access (IA), as Alberta Motor Vehicle System (MOVES) Digital Photos. The Type V Information that may be released by the Registrar through MOVES Digital Photos is grouped as: Driver’s Licence Digital Photo and Identity Card Digital Photo. Digital Photos stored on the Registrar's motor vehicle information system are collected and compiled for the purpose of identifying licensed operators and to prevent individuals from obtaining fake identification cards and driver’s licenses. To protect the integrity of Registrar’s motor vehicle information system Type V Information released by the Registrar is view only.
• Registrar’s Decision Notification 01/2020
  • To improve, simplify and further streamline the verification process for creating and maintaining the Alberta.ca Account account issued by Alberta government the Registrar of Motor Vehicle Services (the “Registrar”) has approved changes in the process presented in Registrar’s Decisions: Notification 01/2017 – REPLACED. The purpose of the Registrar’s decision is to permit the government to match Alberta.ca Account's Identity Verification Service (IVS) information against MOVES, on an ongoing basis, for the purpose of enabling Albertans to establish a verified digital identity.
  • The verification process is revised to include search, retrieval, and validation steps to simplify and shorten the process for all users and to greatly reduce failures caused by data entry error. For this purpose, changes in the interaction between Alberta.ca Account's IVS and MOVES are required. Previously, the required data was input by the user and verified against MOVES. A yes or no response was issued by MOVES if the verification was successful. The new verification process requires the user to input only the Audit Control Number (ACN) located on the back of their card and the Driver’s Licence (DL)/Motor Vehicle ID (MVID) number. If the verification is successful the required data is released from MOVES, populated in IVS, and collected in Alberta.ca Account upon the user’s confirmation and consent. The FOIP Office in Service Alberta has prepared a Privacy Consult Addendum for the Alberta.ca Account Program. A Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) Amendment for the Alberta.ca Account Program outlining the changes in the process, and providing a brief assessment of any possible risks to privacy will be presented to the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner (OIPC) of Alberta.
  • To simplify the collection of information required by the Alberta.ca Account Program, the Registrar’s decision is to withdraw the Registrar’s Decisions: Notification 01/2017 – REPLACED and replace it with Registrar’s Decision: Notification RDN 01/2020.
• Registrar’s Decision Notification 01/2018 – REPLACED
  • Responding to the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Alberta (OIPC) Order F2013-06 (hereafter called "the OIPC Order”), the Registrar of Motor Vehicles (hereafter called "the Registrar”) has implemented stronger system and process approaches intended to further narrow the release of motor vehicle information, strengthen the protection of privacy and the security of the system and data, improve monitoring and auditing of access to information, and enhance accountability for direct access clients.
  • To address the OIPC Order, the Registrar has already implemented a stronger monitoring and auditing process for clients having direct access to the Motor Vehicle Electronic System (MOVES). Building on the technical solution implemented in response to the OIPC Order, the Registrar's Decision Notification 01/2018 introduces a new type of direct access that is intended to provide easier and more secure direct access to different categories of Alberta Public Bodies, Law Enforcement Agencies, and other government entities.
  • Specialized Business Functions (SBF) access is a new type of direct access that further narrows what information clients are able to access when using MOVES information for specific operative needs. SBF access is agreement, purpose, event, and record specific. SBF requires less training and reduces the error of interpreting complex information. SBF clients will be required to declare upfront the intended purpose and use of the information. This will allow for increased capability to control access to MOVES data and to monitor and audit the access that occurs.
• Registrar’s Decision Notification 01/2017 – REPLACED
• Registrar’s Decision Notification 01/2015
• Registrar's Notification of New Product 01/2012
• Registrar's Notification of New Product 01/2011 – AMENDED
• Registrar's Decision Notification 01/2010
• Registrar's Decision Notification 01/2008
• Registrar's Decision Notification 01/2006
• Registrar's Decision Notification 01/2005
• Registrar's Decision Notification 05/2004
• Registrar's Decision Notification 04/2004
• Registrar's Notification on New Product 03/2004
• Registrar's Notification of New product 02/2004
• Registrar's Decision Notification 01/2004 – AMENDED

Publication

• Access to Motor Vehicle Information Regulation

Contact

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Phone: 780-427-7013