Permissible purpose for data searches.

Why we ask

The databases licensed investigators use to find people, addresses, phones, vehicles and assets contain non-public information. Two federal laws decide who may receive it and why: the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) for financial and personal identifying data, and the Driver's Privacy Protection Act (DPPA) for motor-vehicle records. Texas adds its own Motor Vehicle Records Disclosure Act (Transportation Code chapter 730) and the Private Security Act (Occupations Code chapter 1702), under which Encore Legal Investigations is licensed.

Our data providers require us to certify a permissible purpose for every search and audit those certifications. So do we. When you request a data search, you are telling us the legal reason the information is needed, and we confirm it before work begins. A request with no permissible purpose is declined, without charge.

GLBA — financial and personal data

The GLBA (15 U.S.C. §6802) restricts the sharing of non-public personal information and lists the exceptions under which it may be used. The exceptions that most often apply to a law firm's request are:

• Legal proceedings and judicial process — to comply with a properly authorized civil, criminal or regulatory investigation, subpoena or summons, or to respond to judicial process. This covers locating a party or witness for a pending case and service of process.
• Legal or beneficial interest — use by a person holding a legal or beneficial interest relating to the subject, such as a judgment creditor enforcing a judgment or a creditor collecting a debt.
• Fraud prevention and claims — to protect against or prevent actual or potential fraud, unauthorized transactions, claims or other liability.
• Fiduciary or representative capacity — use by a person acting in a fiduciary capacity on behalf of the subject, such as an estate representative or guardian locating heirs or beneficiaries.
• With the subject's consent — searches the individual has requested or expressly authorized in writing.
• Law enforcement and regulatory — disclosures to law enforcement or regulators to the extent permitted by law.

When you send a request, choose the purpose that actually fits your matter. "To locate a defendant for service in Cause No. ___" or "to enforce a judgment against the subject" is enough; "to find someone" is not.

DPPA — driver and vehicle records

The DPPA (18 U.S.C. §2721) governs personal information from state motor-vehicle records: name, address, driver's license and plate data, vehicle registration and title. It may be disclosed only for the permissible uses listed in §2721(b). The ones that apply to most Encore requests are:

• §2721(b)(4) — litigation. Use in connection with any civil, criminal, administrative or arbitral proceeding in any court or agency, including service of process, investigation in anticipation of litigation, and execution or enforcement of judgments and orders.
• §2721(b)(3) — legitimate business use. To verify the accuracy of information submitted by the individual and, if it is not correct, to obtain correct information for the purpose of preventing fraud, pursuing legal remedies or recovering a debt.
• §2721(b)(6) — insurance. Use by an insurer or its agents in connection with claims investigation, anti-fraud activities, rating or underwriting.
• §2721(b)(8) — licensed investigators. Use by a licensed private investigative agency or security service, for a purpose otherwise permitted under the statute. Our license lets us run the search; it does not create a purpose on its own — your matter does.
• §2721(b)(11) and (13) — written consent of the individual whose record is requested.

Vehicle, plate and license data are requested only where the purpose fits one of these uses. A locate for service of process usually qualifies under (b)(4); a personal or marketing request never does.

What qualifies, and what does not

If your request does not fit cleanly into a listed purpose, send it anyway with a plain description of the matter. An investigator will tell you whether it can be run, and what we would need to run it.

Not a consumer report (FCRA)

Encore Legal Investigations is not a consumer reporting agency, and nothing we provide is a consumer report under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. §1681 et seq.). Our results may not be used, in whole or in part, to decide a person's eligibility for employment, credit, insurance, housing or any other purpose covered by the FCRA. Background searches we run are for litigation, claims and investigative use only. If you need an FCRA-compliant background check for hiring or tenant screening, that must come from a consumer reporting agency.

What we verify before work begins

Before any data search is run, an investigator confirms:

• Who is asking. The requesting attorney or firm, a bar number or firm account, and a business email or phone we can reach you at.
• The matter. The cause number and court for a filed case, or for pre-suit work a short description of the claim and the parties. We may ask for the petition, citation, a docket link, a demand letter or an engagement letter.
• The purpose. The GLBA and DPPA purpose that applies, and that the data requested fits it — for example, vehicle data is requested only where litigation or another DPPA use supports it.
• The subject's role. Defendant, witness, judgment debtor, heir, insured, claimant — the relationship between your client and the person we are searching for.

Verification is usually completed the same business day and is part of the quote review, so it does not add a step for you. The certification is kept with the file; our data providers may audit it. Nothing is charged until the purpose is confirmed and you approve the quote. Requests we cannot verify, or that have no permissible purpose, are declined and the file is closed.

Your certification

By sending a data search request you certify that the purpose you state is true, that you or your client have that purpose, and that the results will be used only for the matter described. You agree to keep the results confidential within your matter, not to resell or republish them, and to tell us if the purpose changes before the work is complete. Misuse of regulated data carries civil and criminal penalties under the GLBA, the DPPA and Texas law, and may result in your account being closed.

This page summarizes the statutes for convenience and is not legal advice. The text of 15 U.S.C. §6802, 18 U.S.C. §2721, 15 U.S.C. §1681 and Texas Transportation Code chapter 730 controls.