Washington eyes limits on license plate data
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios
Washington state lawmakers are advancing a bill that would set the state's first ground rules for regulating automated license plate readers (ALPR).
Why it matters: Washington has positioned itself as a safe haven for immigrants, abortion patients and those seeking gender-affirming care, but privacy advocates warn these protections and others can ring hollow when surveillance data is tapped by federal or out-of-state agencies.
License plate readers don't just capture information on stolen cars — they create searchable databases of where vehicles travel, according to Tee Sannon of the ACLU Washington.
- Once pooled into regional or national networks, those scans can be used to reconstruct daily routines, clinic visits or political activity.
- Without a statewide law, a patchwork of local policies leaves the door open to informal sharing, subpoenas or misuse, critics say.
Driving the news: Senate Bill 6002 passed the Senate 40-9 in a bipartisan vote Feb. 4 and received a public hearing in the House this week.
By the numbers: Under the current version of the bill, agencies must delete ALPR data within 21 days.
- Specialized data would also be purged on strict timelines: four hours for commercial vehicle enforcement, 12 hours for parking and 30 days for traffic studies.
Yes, but: Data needed as evidence for a specific investigation can be retained for as long as necessary.
What they're saying: "This is not a partisan issue. This is not a police issue. This is about being a private citizen in the state of Washington," Sen. Jeff Holy (R-Cheney), the bill's co-sponsor, said during a public hearing.
- Holy said people have a reasonable expectation of privacy in their daily movements — from dropping kids off at school to attending religious services or visiting a doctor.
- "These cameras vacuum up all data, regardless of whether there's criminal wrongdoing," he said.
The initial draft proposed a 72-hour limit for ALPR retention, but it was amended to 21 days following feedback from law enforcement.
- "Investigations don't work on a three-day timeline. Three days or three hours provides no investigative value and masquerades as privacy," Redmond Police Chief Darrell Lowe said at a Jan. 20 public hearing.
The big picture: The debate comes amid growing national scrutiny of surveillance technology — from police camera networks to doorbell systems.
- Privacy advocates argue that the longer data exists, the greater the risk it could be accessed or shared beyond its original purpose.
- The University of Washington Center for Human Rights has documented how federal agencies exploited data-sharing networks to query state driver data millions of times in 2025, including by federal immigration authorities.
- Several states have already stepped in to set limits on license plate reader data, with New Hampshire recently adopting one of the strictest standards in the country, requiring certain scans to be deleted within three minutes.
"These are not just hypothetical risks," Sannon told Axios in October. "It's all very real now."
What we're watching: Whether the House Civil Rights & Judiciary Committee moves the bill forward before a key deadline next week — and whether the measure then clears the full House.