Virginia Code 46.2-342: What license to contain; organ donor information; Uniform Donor Document.
A. Every license issued under this chapter shall bear:
Terms Used In Virginia Code 46.2-342
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Donor: The person who makes a gift.
- Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
- Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
- Month: means a calendar month and "year" means a calendar year. See Virginia Code 1-223
- Person: includes any individual, corporation, partnership, association, cooperative, limited liability company, trust, joint venture, government, political subdivision, or any other legal or commercial entity and any successor, representative, agent, agency, or instrumentality thereof. See Virginia Code 1-230
- United States: includes the 50 states, the District of Columbia the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and the United States Virgin Islands. See Virginia Code 1-255
1. For licenses issued or renewed on or after July 1, 2003, a license number which shall be assigned by the Department to the licensee and shall not be the same as the licensee’s social security number;
2. A photograph of the licensee;
3. The licensee’s full name, year, month, and date of birth;
4. The licensee’s address, subject to the provisions of subsection B;
5. A brief description of the licensee for the purpose of identification;
6. A space for the signature of the licensee; and
7. Any other information deemed necessary by the Commissioner for the administration of this title.
No abbreviated names or nicknames shall be shown on any license.
B. At the option of the licensee, the address shown on the license may be either the post office box, business, or residence address of the licensee, provided such address is located in Virginia. However, regardless of which address is shown on the license, the licensee shall supply the Department with his residence address, which shall be an address in Virginia. This residence address shall be maintained in the Department’s records. Whenever the licensee’s address shown either on his license or in the Department’s records changes, he shall notify the Department of such change as required by § 46.2-324.
C. The Department may contract with the United States Postal Service or an authorized agent to use the National Change of Address System for the purpose of obtaining current address information for a person whose name appears in customer records maintained by the Department. If the Department receives information from the National Change of Address System indicating that a person whose name appears in a Department record has submitted a permanent change of address to the Postal Service, the Department may then update its records with the mailing address obtained from the National Change of Address System.
D. The license shall be made of a material and in a form to be determined by the Commissioner.
E. Licenses issued to persons less than 21 years old shall be immediately and readily distinguishable from those issued to persons 21 years old or older. Distinguishing characteristics shall include unique design elements of the document and descriptors within the photograph area to identify persons who are at least 15 years old but less than 21 years old. These descriptors shall include the month, day, and year when the person will become 21 years old.
F. The Department shall establish a method by which an applicant for a driver’s license or an identification card may indicate his consent to make an anatomical gift for transplantation, therapy, research, and education pursuant to § 32.1-291.5, and shall cooperate with the Virginia Transplant Council to ensure that such method is designed to encourage organ, tissue, and eye donation with a minimum of effort on the part of the donor and the Department.
G. If an applicant indicates his consent to be a donor pursuant to subsection F, the Department may make a notation of this designation on his license or card and shall make a notation of this designation in his driver record. The notation shall remain on the individual’s license or card until he revokes his consent to make an anatomical gift by requesting removal of the notation from his license or card or otherwise in accordance with § 32.1-291.6. Inclusion of a notation indicating consent to making an organ donation on an applicant’s license or card pursuant to this subsection shall be sufficient legal authority for removal, following death, of the subject’s organs or tissues without additional authority from the donor or his family or estate, in accordance with the provisions of § 32.1-291.8.
H. A minor may make a donor designation pursuant to subsection F without the consent of a parent or legal guardian as authorized by the Revised Uniform Anatomical Gift Act (§ 32.1-291.1 et seq.).
I. The Department shall provide a method by which an applicant conducting a Department of Motor Vehicles transaction using electronic means may make a voluntary contribution to the Virginia Donor Registry and Public Awareness Fund (Fund) established pursuant to § 32.1-297.1. The Department shall inform the applicant of the existence of the Fund and also that contributing to the Fund is voluntary.
J. The Department shall collect all moneys contributed pursuant to subsection I and transmit the moneys on a regular basis to the Virginia Transplant Council, which shall credit the contributions to the Fund.
K. When requested by the applicant, and upon presentation of a signed statement by a licensed physician confirming the applicant’s condition, the Department shall indicate on the applicant’s driver’s license that the applicant (i) is an insulin-dependent diabetic, (ii) is deaf or hard of hearing or speech impaired, (iii) has a traumatic brain injury, or (iv) has an intellectual disability, as defined in § 37.2-100, or autism spectrum disorder, as defined in § 38.2-3418.17. Any request for a traumatic brain injury indicator on an applicant’s driver’s license shall be accompanied by a form prescribed by the Commissioner and completed by a licensed physician.
L. In the absence of gross negligence or willful misconduct, the Department and its employees shall be immune from any civil or criminal liability in connection with the making of or failure to make a notation of donor designation on any license or card or in any person’s driver record.
M. The Department shall, in coordination with the Virginia Transplant Council, prepare an organ donor information brochure describing the organ donor program and providing instructions for completion of the uniform donor document information describing the bone marrow donation program and instructions for registration in the National Bone Marrow Registry. The Department shall include a copy of such brochure with every driver’s license renewal notice or application mailed to licensed drivers in Virginia.
N. The Department shall establish a method by which an applicant for an original, reissued, or renewed driver’s license may indicate his blood type. If the applicant chooses to indicate his blood type, the Department shall make a notation of this designation on his license and in his record. Such notation on the driver’s license shall only be used by emergency medical services agencies in providing emergency medical support. Upon written request of the license holder or his legal guardian to have the designation removed, the Department shall issue the driver’s license without such designation upon the payment of applicable fees.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Department shall not disclose any data collected pursuant to this subsection except to the subject of the information and by designation on the driver’s license. Nothing herein shall require the Department to verify any information provided for the designation. No action taken by any person, whether private citizen or public officer or employee, with regard to any blood type designation displayed on a driver’s license, shall create a warranty of the reliability or accuracy of the document or electronic image, nor shall it create any liability on the part of the Commonwealth or of any department, office, or agency or of any officer, employee, or agent thereof.
Code 1950, § 46-370; 1958, c. 541, § 46.1-375; 1962, c. 368; 1968, c. 642; 1972, c. 538; 1976, c. 57; 1979, c. 124; 1982, c. 180; 1983, c. 608; 1984, c. 780; 1989, cc. 139, 705, 727; 1990, c. 159; 1993, cc. 118, 986; 1995, cc. 350, 372; 1997, c. 486; 1998, c. 322; 1999, c. 330; 2000, c. 810; 2001, cc. 148, 157; 2002, cc. 135, 767, 834; 2003, cc. 306, 335; 2005, cc. 259, 828; 2007, cc. 92, 907; 2008, c. 82; 2009, cc. 834, 872; 2010, cc. 25, 55; 2014, c. 702; 2016, cc. 135, 743; 2019, c. 288; 2020, c. 545; 2022, c. 796.