Is a driver's license number considered...?

Question

...personal information? I work in a hotel and it is standard operating procedure to ask for a guest's ID (a driver's license is preferable because it provides all the needed information) rather than asking separately for his/her address, city, state, zip code, and driver's license number. By asking for ID, I only have to ask the guest his/her last name and phone number (in the way of personal information).

However, I just checked in a fellow who not only refused to tell me his driver's license number (claiming it was "personal information that I do not give out;" also in that group was his home address, which anyone who knew his last name and city could find out), but wouldn't even let me hold his ID to make the process run smoother.

He did, however, hand over his credit card gladly to pay for the room. I assumed it was a company credit card, but upon inspection, it was stamped with his name and no company logo or name below it. Does it strike anyone else as odd that this man would, in effect, give me his credit card number but not his driver's license number?

(FYI, we take down guests' driver's license numbers in case a vehicle is involved in an accident on the premises, and also for an extra method of contact should the need arise. If for some reason we cannot reach a guest by mail or phone, we contact the police and have them run the DL# to find the guest).

Answer 1

No,

it's a matter of public information.

Answer 2

He is correct in that it is personal information. In most states you have no right to ask for it unless he will be driving one of your vehicles (such as a rental car or as an employee).  

I don't know how you can have the police find your guests through a DL number. It is illegal for them to provide you with any information of that sort. This type of abuse is probably why the customer didn't want to give it to you.

"Does it strike anyone else as odd that this man would, in effect, give me his credit card number but not his driver's license number?"

No. A DL number, like a social security number, is a primary identifier and can easily be used for identity theft. I have stopped many violators who claimed that they didn't have a DL on them but that they knew the number. Guess how often it was somebody else's number? Running a DL number doesn't always bring up a photo but a DL always has a photo on it. Your DL suspended? All you need is the number of a person of similar height, weight, race and s*x and you can claim to be him.

I agree with him in that I also do not give out the location of my residence. Only my legal address appears on my driver license, not the location of my residence.

  

Answer 3

In most states a DL is considered public information.  I've come across people in my work as a private investigator that insist that their DL, and other info is private information.  The truth is people "feel" like certain info is private without knowing that legally it's public.  Even people who have so called "unpublished phone numbers" tend to think those numbers are private information.  Yet they share that phone number with friends, the bank, the cable company, the electric company.  Once it's with those entities, it's public info.  That guy probably shares his DL with the cable company, which means its not private.

Answer 4

They don't have to give you any information they don't want to give you. If that violates your policy, they can find another hotel that won't require so much information, but they don't have to give it out.

Your hotel needs to choose between accepting guest who don't give out as much info as they would like, and loosing business of those people who don't want to give it out.

As an employee, all you need to do is ask your boss if its required, and what you do if someone refuses to give you the info.  

Answer 5

i don't understand? how do you know it was even his own credit card if he wouldn't let you see his id? i think it is smart to write down dl#s just because sometimes people may be running from the police and if you have a record of where they've been it would be easier to find that person..