The Virginia license plate reader law (House Bill 2724, 2025) caps license plate reader data retention at 21 days, after Senate amendments cut it from 30, and limits use to certain investigations such as criminal investigations with reasonable suspicion, missing or endangered persons, and alerts for stolen vehicles or warrants. Localities may choose shorter periods. Confirm the enacted text before relying on this summary.
What the Virginia license plate reader law changed
Until 2025, no Virginia state law governed license plate readers, and each department set its own deletion policy. That changed with House Bill 2724, sponsored by Delegate Charniele Herring. The bill started with a 30-day retention cap, and Senate amendments cut it to 21 days. Local governments may also choose shorter periods. A December 2025 report in Cardinal News describes the 21-day limit as part of a new Virginia law limiting plate-reader use to certain investigations.
The key rules, as reported
| Topic | What has been reported |
|---|---|
| Retention | A 21-day cap on keeping plate-reader data, reduced from 30 days in the original bill. Localities can set shorter periods. |
| Permitted uses | The Senate version limited use to criminal investigations with reasonable suspicion, active missing or endangered person investigations, and certain alerts such as stolen vehicles or outstanding warrants. |
| Before 2025 | No state law. Each department decided how long to keep data. |
| Not confirmed here | The enacted bill’s exact text, its codified section number and its effective date. Read the final law on the Virginia legislature’s website. |
What agencies should do
- Set retention to the cap or shorter and make sure the system deletes automatically, with deletions logged.
- Limit searches to permitted purposes and require a case number or reason for every search.
- Document exceptions, such as data preserved as evidence, so retention rules and evidence rules do not collide.
- Update the written policy and brief officers and dispatchers on what changed.
- Ask your vendor how retention and use limits are enforced in the platform, not only promised in a contract.
Read our policy and data-retention guide for the full checklist and the state overview for comparison with other states. Virginia has also funded plate readers through its auto-theft prevention grants, which one news report says accounted for three of four grants in fiscal 2025; see license plate reader grants.
Frequently asked questions
What does the Virginia license plate reader law require?
A 21-day cap on retention and limits on permitted uses, as reported for House Bill 2724. Confirm the enacted text.
How long can Virginia police keep license plate reader data?
According to reports on House Bill 2724, no more than 21 days, and localities may set shorter periods. Confirm the exact text and any evidence exceptions in the enacted law.
What can Virginia police use license plate readers for?
As reported for the Senate version: criminal investigations with reasonable suspicion, active missing or endangered person investigations, and certain alerts such as stolen vehicles or outstanding warrants.
Was there a Virginia law before 2025?
Reports say no state law governed plate readers before 2025, and each department set its own deletion policy.
What is the Virginia Code section?
We could not confirm the codified section from the sources reviewed. Check the enacted bill on the Virginia legislature’s website.
Does the law apply to private cameras such as HOAs?
We did not find that in the sources reviewed. Ask counsel; see HOA license plate readers.