You asked for the origin of the requirement that people provide their Social Security numbers to the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) when registering a motor vehicle. You wanted to know whether this was based through a federal or state requirement and for what purpose it was done.

This is no longer required by law. The requirement was repealed in 2006 by PA 06-130 (§ 1).

The genesis of the requirement was legislation passed in 1997 (PA 97-309). Its general purpose was to provide the Department of Revenue Services with assistance in identifying those people in Connecticut affected by state taxes and thereby make it easier to determine who owed these taxes. Thus it was a state initiative and was not required by federal law or regulation.

The requirement was codified in two different statutes, CGS §§ 14-12l and 4a-78. The requirement, originally set to begin by February 1, 2001, was postponed by the legislature until 2003. In 2003, the legislature decided to eliminate the requirement, but only repealed CGS 14-21l, inadvertently leaving the parallel requirement in CGS § 4a-78 in place (PA 03-3, June 30 Special Session). Thus, while DMV no longer intended to collect the numbers, it found that it was still bound by the law that had not been repealed by PA 03-3. The oversight was corrected in 2006 when CGS § 4a-78 was modified to eliminate the requirement with respect to motor vehicle registrations. The requirement continues to exist however with respect to people applying for business licenses, selling goods or services, or leasing real or personal property to a public agency.

DMV continues to be required by federal law to obtain and verify the Social Security number of anyone applying for a driver's license.

JF: ro