Privacy Policy

• Personal information on individuals is collected only as allowed by law. The collection of personal information is limited to what is relevant and necessary to accomplish a lawful purpose of the Department.
  
  Personal information, as defined in the Information Practices Act of 1977, is information which identifies or describes an individual including, but not limited to, name, social security number, physical description, home address, home telephone number, education, financial matters, and medical or employment history.
  
  
• The Department will only collect personal information relevant to specific purposes which are enumerated at or prior to the time of collection in a privacy notice included on or with the form used to collect personal information. We tell people who provide personal information about their opportunity to review that information. The Department allows individuals who provide personal information to review the information and contest its accuracy or completeness. Such requests can be sent to the contact information provided below.
  
  
• Home, business or e-mail addresses, or account information from persons who simply browse our Internet websites are not collected. The Department collects personal information about individuals through our websites only if an individual provides such information to the Department voluntarily through forms or surveys. The information the Department automatically collects includes the domain name or Internet Protocol address that relates to the machine used to access the Department's websites, the type of browser and operating system used, the date and time when a website was visited, web pages displayed, and any uploaded forms.

• Google Analytics are used to help improve our websites. The Department uses Google Analytics to help understand how visitors interact with our websites so the sites may be improved. You can read Google’s security and privacy policies for Google Analytics and choose not to have your data used by Google Analytics by downloading their opt-out browser add-on.

• Session cookies in some areas to improve the overall usability of our websites may be used. Cookies are small text files placed on your computer, often without your knowledge, while visiting certain websites on the Internet used to identify your computer. For example, cookies are used by some websites to greet you personally, to post a list of your favorite books to purchase, to remember what you had in your shopping basket the last time you visited.
  
  When visiting our websites, a temporary cookie may be placed on your computer for applications such as online complaint forms, which you may request to be sent to you electronically or by mail. The session cookies are used to facilitate the interaction between you and the fields in the form. The cookies are not used to collect or store information about you and do not track you if you return to our website. In your web browser settings, you may either manually delete cookies or select to delete history on exit. Please refer to your web browser for specific instructions.
  
  You can prevent cookies from being placed on your computer by accessing your web browser's preferences menu and deleting existing cookies. There also are commercial programs available to help you manage cookies. Before taking such steps, you should be aware that some websites may not work properly if you choose to block the placement of cookies on your computer. You will need to decide whether enabling cookies outweigh privacy concerns.

• Use or disclosure of personal information is only for the specified purposes, or purposes consistent with those purposes, unless we get the consent of the subject of the information, or if it is required by law or regulation. The Public Records Act exists to ensure government is open and the public has a right to have access to appropriate records and information possessed by state government. At the same time, there are exceptions in both state and federal law to the public's right to access public records.  Electronically collected personal information is exempt from the Public Records Act. Individuals may request amendments to, or deletion of electronically collected personal information using the contact information provided below for review.  Requests should include sufficient detail to identify the specific record and correction sought.  Upon receipt of a verifiable request and to the extent authorized by law, we will amend or delete the data from our records.  In the event of a conflict between this Policy and the Public Records Act, the Information Practices Act of 1977, or other law governing the disclosure of records, the applicable law will apply.

The Department will not distribute or sell any electronically collected personal information about users to any third party without the user’s written consent, unless required by law or performed under a contract limiting the third party to uses consistent with legal requirements or to which the user has consented.

Information security safeguards are taken with reasonable precautions to protect the personal information collected or maintained by the Department against loss, unauthorized access, and illegal use or disclosure. The Department uses encryption to protect the security of individuals' personal information during transmission of such information through the Department's websites. Such personal information is stored by the Department in secure locations. The Department's staff is trained on procedures for the management of personal information, including limitations on the release of information. Access to personal information is limited to those members of the Department’s staff whose work requires such access. Confidential information is destroyed according to the Department’s records retention schedule. The Department conducts periodic reviews to ensure proper information management policies and procedures are understood and followed.

The Department encourages all individuals to use appropriate safeguards to secure all their technology devices (e.g., computer, tablet, smartphone, wireless networks) to protect the information which may be on, or access through, those devices. If you would like to request amendments to personal information, deletion of electronically collected personal information or have questions regarding the Department's Privacy Policy, you may contact us at:

Privacy and Risk Management Administrator
PRM@chp.ca.gov
916-843-4070

California Highway Patrol
ATTN: Privacy and Risk Management Administrator
601 North 7th Street
Sacramento, CA 95811

Policy effective: 01/01/2026
Policy last reviewed: 01/01/2026
Policy last revised: 01/01/2026