When you are stopped by a cop for a traffic violation and they ask to see your license, what information are they looking for? What if your from another state and have never been in the state in question?

They are checking to be sure you are who you say you are, and that you are properly licensed to drive.

Is this a trick question?

Hello cs:

It depends. Usually, they're looking to see if you're a licensed and insured driver. They don't care what state you're from and they're not going to know that you've never been there before. You're not required to answer their questions. In fact, they're required to answer yours. YOUR one and only question should be, "am I free to go, Officer?".

Or, they could be looking for bank robbers, or escaped convicts, or if you're in Arizona, illegal aliens.

excon

Is my social security number stored in one database that is accessible by law enforcement agencies around the country? If I get stopped in Florida with a Massachusetts license, do they have all of my personal information in a fla database, or do they have access to one in Massachusetts they can access? If I get stopped in Ga with a suspended Ma license, will they be able to find out during my traffic stop?

When a police officer runs my name, social security number, and date of birth, is he checking a nationwide database or a local one?
If its in a state in which I have never lived, will he get any information on me?

Depends on the police force. But its likely they are connected to a national database. How much about you is in that database is another question,

First, please do not start multiple threads for the same question.

If you have a suspended license, its likely it will show in any state.

When a cop runs your social security number, what information can he obtain? If you were never in that states system, can he still get a date of birth and name?

Ok they run a drivers license check, it will show ( depending on state)

1. if your license is valid
2. if your license is real ( not fake)
3. if there are any restrictions on the license ( glasses and the such)
4. in most areas it shows if your car insurance is valid

They may also ( their option) run a NCIC report, It will show if there are any warrants for your arrest, if they have a in car computer doing it, it will also show if you were ever previoiusly arrested or convicted.

If you were previous convicted or if there is a warrant, it will normally show your social security number, any tatoos known and other ID info

Comments on this post
cs_courtney disagrees : disagree, I was stopped in Georgia, issued a ticket for speeding and sent on my way. No mention of out of state suspension

First, may I call your attention to the guidelines for using the comments feature found here:

https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/feedba...ure-24951.html

In my first response, I said it depends on the police force. In the response you, erroneously, gave a negative comment to, I said its "Likely" to show. I did NOT say that the officer would act on it. So there was NOTHING factually incorrect about my response.

When you start participating on a site like this, you should spend some time reading the rules and browsing around to see how others use the site. This will help prevent making mistakes like posting the same question 4 separate times or using features incorrectly. This also helps you get the best and most accurate answers.