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There is no single U.S.-wide period. How long police keep license plate reader data depends on state law, the agency’s policy, why the data was collected, and whether it has been preserved for an investigation or court matter. A routine deletion deadline may not apply to records tied to a warrant, evidence, or a valid preservation request.
What determines the retention period?
Automatic license plate reader (ALPR) systems capture plate numbers and related information such as the time and place of a read. The applicable retention rule may come from state law, an agency’s internal policy, or both. The local department matters: a statewide maximum does not necessarily describe the agency’s ordinary practice.
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It is also important to distinguish routine reads from records preserved for a specific matter. A preservation request, warrant, active investigation, prosecution, or court order can trigger an exception to ordinary deletion rules. Vendor-hosted copies are a separate question: the laws and policies described here do not establish one universal vendor storage or deletion practice.
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Examples of state laws and agency policies
| Jurisdiction or agency | Ordinary rule or finding | Important qualification |
|---|---|---|
| North Carolina | Covered captured plate data may not be preserved for more than 90 days after capture. | The statute lists exceptions, including qualifying preservation requests and search warrants. Data preserved after a request must be destroyed one year after the initial request unless another request resets the period. North Carolina General Statutes § 20-183.32. |
| Washington | The general limit is 21 days for covered ALPR data collected by or for an agency. | The current statute provides exceptions: court-authorized data is deleted at the conclusion of the case under the applicable records schedule; parking-enforcement data no later than 12 hours after final disposition; traffic-study data no later than 30 days after collection; and commercial-vehicle-enforcement data no later than six months after collection. Data kept as evidence of specified unlawful conduct may be retained as long as needed for that purpose. The statute page cites 2026 legislation. Washington RCW 10.130.040. |
| Virginia agencies | A 2025 State Crime Commission survey found that most responding agencies reported retention periods of 21 days or less for the camera types surveyed. | For fixed cameras, 106 of 143 responding agencies (74%) reported 21 days or less; for mobile cameras, 47 of 50 (94%); and for portable cameras, 31 of 37 (84%). Separately, 33 of 159 responding agencies (21%) reported a period over 21 days. These are findings about responding Virginia agencies, not a national estimate. Virginia State Crime Commission, 2026 update. |
| Henrico County, Virginia | The county police division’s published policy sets 21 days for fixed and portable system data and requires mobile-system settings to purge data within 21 days. | Data related to a specific ongoing criminal investigation, prosecution, or civil action may be kept through the policy’s specified investigation or final-disposition milestones. This is one department’s policy, not a statewide Virginia rule. Henrico County Police Division ALPR policy. |
| California | California does not have one statewide retention period established by the cited report. | The California Attorney General’s 2025 draft report says SB 34 requires agencies’ ALPR policies to describe retention. It also notes a separate rule limiting California Highway Patrol ALPR images to 60 days unless used in felony investigations or as evidence; that CHP rule should not be generalized to every California police department. California Attorney General’s 2025 draft report. |
Why a published number may not be the full answer
- The clock may start at a specific event. Some rules count from capture or collection; others measure from a preservation request, final disposition, or conclusion of a case.
- Exceptions can extend retention. A record connected to an investigation or legal proceeding may be treated differently from an ordinary read.
- Different uses may have different limits. Washington’s statute, for example, sets distinct schedules for parking enforcement, traffic studies, and commercial vehicle enforcement.
- Historical comparisons can go stale. The Virginia commission’s 2024 annual report was a snapshot of state-level limits based on legal analysis as of September 8, 2024. It listed New Hampshire at three minutes, Utah at 14 days, Maine at 21 days, North Carolina at 90 days, and Florida at three years, among other entries. It also said Virginia then had no statewide ALPR retention regulation. These dated findings are not a verified current 50-state chart. Virginia State Crime Commission 2024 annual report.
- Agency copies and vendor copies may differ. A department’s policy or state statute does not, by itself, establish how long a vendor retains a separately hosted copy. Check the agency’s contract or vendor terms when that distinction matters.
How to find the rule for your police department
- Identify the agency that operates the cameras and the location where the read was collected. If a city, county, state, or campus police agency could be involved, check the specific agency rather than relying on a general state summary.
- Search the agency’s official website for “automated license plate reader policy,” “ALPR policy,” or the system vendor’s name plus “retention.” Look for the sections on data retention, sharing, exceptions, and deletion.
- Compare that policy with the applicable state statute. Check the clock’s starting point, the ordinary retention limit, and exceptions for warrants, preservation requests, investigations, evidence, or court proceedings.
- If the written policy does not answer your question, contact the department’s records custodian or public-information office. Ask for its current retention schedule and whether case-preserved or vendor-hosted copies follow a different schedule.
What to ask about a specific plate read
When asking an agency about data from a particular date or location, be precise about the system and record you mean. Ask whether the read is still held, whether it was preserved for a case or legal request, what retention rule applies, and whether the agency or a vendor holds a copy. The ordinary deletion period alone cannot establish whether a particular record still exists.
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