At a recent tradeshow a driver stopped to ask me how he can correct his Motor Vehicle Record when someone else’s tickets in California were showing up on his CDL. It turns out that the other driver has the same name and date of birth as the driver asking the question. I told him of several ways this could happen to him.
First, the other driver is using his name and CDL and attempting to persuade others, such as law enforcement and DMV, that he was you. If this was the case then he needs to contact the police and the FBI to report the ID theft.
With the police report in hand, then he could start the process of contacting all the courts where he had tickets that were not his. Report it to the FBI to let them know your CDL is being used by someone other than yourself and could be used in a crime or terrorist act. Plus he will need to carry that police report with him at all times to assist him in any stop where the officer may want to arrest him for tickets or crimes he did not do. The police report will allow him to go to the court system where his tickets and any criminal records will be located and start the process of having the incorrect information removed from his record.
Your license is administered by your home state DMV and the Administrative Procedures Act (APA). Your state Statutes governs all actions taken against your license. That means any attempt to deny, cancel, or suspend your license must follow set procedures. You cannot get into the court system until you have exhausted all your administrative remedies. In lay language, you must timely request a hearing before a hearing officer, an employee of the DMV. Most state systems follow the following sequence. Should you lose at the hearing officer level, you must appeal that decision to an administrative law judge who reviews the decision. Should you wish to continue to appeal that decision, you can get into the court system with a brand new hearing where the rules of law and evidence apply.
The Federal APA was passed in 1946 to clarify the process of making regulations. Its purpose was to allow greater accessibility and participation by the public in the rulemaking process.
Second, the other driver really does have your same name and date of birth (happens more than you think) and is not attempting to persuade others you and he are the same person. Therefore, there is no attempt to mislead or defraud on his part so there is nothing you can do other than keep the paperwork showing there are two of you with same name and date of birthdate but you do have different addresses.
Third, the other driver not only puts his CDL tickets on you but he also puts his bad credit on you. This information is not in the court system, but in the public credit reporting system. This is where you find your DAC report, your credit report, and real estate information and is actually harder to repair than the law enforcement system. In the court - law enforcement system, you have mug shots and fingerprints to help identify the differences between people. In the credit reporting system you only have letters you have written saying the information is wrong. Someone has incurred a debt in your name. When you buy something on credit, usually they do not get a fingerprint nor do they take a picture when you make the purchase. All you are left with are the letters you write to deny the charges or information. That is why Congress wrote The Fair Credit Reporting Act, which may be found at
www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fcra.htm.
You can and should obtain a copy of your credit report every year. The cost is minimal and it gives you the opportunity to verify that all your credit information is correct. Under The Fair Credit Reporting Act you are entitled to “rebut” any charges on your credit report, DAC Report, etc. It is still up to you to prove that you did not make the charges or that the employer information in your DAC Report is incorrect.
It will be up to the driver to keep proof of all letters and documents he files to correct any information on his MVR, criminal history or credit report. The best was to do that is have “certified copies” from the court and credit reports so you can show them to law enforcement. I would also keep master copies of everything at home and carry the copies in the truck and on my smartphone in case the officer wants you to email it to him.