State record · VA · 2026-09-01 · Statute

Virginia

Live on this state’s ALPR statute. The occupancy form on file is not a named ALPR highway instrument. A live card is not a permit in hand.

Highway system

Primary

Systems of state highways under Title 33.2: the primary state highway system (highways and bridges under the Commonwealth Transportation Board and the Commissioner of Highways and not in the secondary system) and the secondary state highway system (county public highways, causeways, bridges, landings, and wharves accepted by VDOT for supervision and maintenance). The urban highway system is not in the systems of state highways (§ 33.2-100).

Owner

Primary

Virginia Department of Transportation. The Commissioner of Highways is VDOT’s chief executive officer (§ 33.2-100).

Right-of-way

Primary

24VAC30-151-10. That property within the system of state highways that is open or may be opened for public travel or use or both in the Commonwealth, including prescriptive easements for maintenance and public travel. Includes the travel way and associated boundary lines and the area in between, the subsurface below and air above, parking and recreation areas, rest and service areas, and other permanent easements for a specific purpose appurtenant to the right-of-way.

Public records

Primary

Virginia Freedom of Information Act (Va. Code § 2.2-3700 et seq.; inspection § 2.2-3704). Who may request: Citizens of the Commonwealth, representatives of newspapers and magazines with circulation in the Commonwealth, and representatives of radio and television stations broadcasting in or into the Commonwealth — not “any person.” § 2.2-5517(F) takes ALPR system data and audit trail data out of VFOIA. Do not send a plate-data request citing only Chapter 37.

§ 2.2-5517(F) takes ALPR system data and audit trail data out of VFOIA. Do not send a plate-data request citing only Chapter 37.

Open meetings

Primary

Virginia Freedom of Information Act (open meetings) (Va. Code § 2.2-3707)

ALPR statute

Primary

Va. Code § 2.2-5517 (2025, c. 720) — Use of automatic license plate recognition systems by law-enforcement agencies. Chapter 55.6 is this one section. Law-enforcement agencies may use an ALPR only (i) as part of a criminal investigation into an alleged Code or local-ordinance violation where there is reasonable suspicion a crime was committed; (ii) as part of an active missing/endangered-person or human-trafficking investigation; or (iii) to receive notifications related to a missing or endangered person, a person with an outstanding warrant, a person associated with human trafficking, a stolen vehicle, or a stolen license plate. Query/download of system data must match those purposes. Sale of system or audit-trail data is forbidden; sharing is limited to other Virginia LE agencies for those purposes, a Commonwealth’s Attorney, a defendant/counsel in discovery, a court order or subpoena duces tecum, the vendor for maintenance, or a public emergency/missing-person alert. VSP must share data from systems on limited-access highways, bridges, tunnels, or special structures under CTB/VDOT with the locality’s LE agency. Agencies must keep a public use policy, audit at least every 30 days, report annually to VSP by April 1, and take public-awareness measures. A notification is not, by itself, reasonable suspicion for a stop. Willful misuse is a Class 1 misdemeanor; evidence from listed violations is inadmissible for the Commonwealth. Does not apply to traffic-law photo systems, DMV weigh stations, or non-criminal-justice uses. Division of Purchases and Supply (DGS) must approve systems; the contract rule in subsection C is marked effective July 1, 2026. Retention: System data purged after 21 days of capture, destroyed and not recoverable, unless part of an ongoing investigation, prosecution, or civil action (then held through conclusion / final disposition including appeals and habeas). Audit-trail data purged after two years, same exception..

Compiled text retrieved from law.lis.virginia.gov on 1 Sept 2026. Historical citation 2025, c. 720. Enrolled chapter PDF (CHAP0720) was JS-only / not at legacy LIS; packed the compiled Code, not uncodified enactment clauses.

ROW permit

Not retrieved

not packed as an ALPR-named type — VDOT Land Use Permit is the generic ROW instrument; no ALPR form is on the June 2026 type list. Who may apply: 24VAC30-151-20: no work or nontransportation use of the system of state highways or any right-of-way under VDOT until written permission (permit or state-authorized contract). VDOT’s public type list (updated 25 June 2026) names photo-red (LUP-PRC), school-zone photo (LUP-SZPE), work-zone speed (LUP-WZSSC), and high-risk intersection photo (LUP-HRPE) — not ALPR. 2026 House Document 6 (Crime Commission) says 2025 Acts ch. 720 enactment clause 10 authorized retroactive LUPs for ALPR already on state ROW, and that prospective ALPR LUPs required 2026 reenactment (clause 14). HD6: Crime Commission did not consider endorsing that reenactment. 2026 reenactment not retrieved.. 24VAC30-151 Part III covers denial, revocation, and refusal to renew; packed as the generic LUP rule, not an ALPR-specific clock. Generic land-use permit is real (primary VDOT page + 24VAC30-151-20). An ALPR-titled LUP form is not on the retrieved list. Do not import Florida’s General Use Permit or Minnesota OLPA. HD6’s count of 215 retroactive permits is VDOT personal communication dated 23 Dec 2025, not a VDOT instrument page.

Generic land-use permit is real (primary VDOT page + 24VAC30-151-20). An ALPR-titled LUP form is not on the retrieved list. Do not import Florida’s General Use Permit or Minnesota OLPA. HD6’s count of 215 retroactive permits is VDOT personal communication dated 23 Dec 2025, not a VDOT instrument page.

https://www.vdot.virginia.gov/doing-business/technical-guidance-and-support/land-use-and-development/land-use-permits/

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