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How long do police keep plate reader data? State rules

Compare vendor defaults, three state-law examples, and Louisville and Illinois State Police policies. Record type and preservation rules change the answer.

Guide reviewed .

There is no single period for every plate reader

A useful retention answer needs a location, an operator, a record type and a date. Ordinary sightings, exported case evidence and audit logs can have different schedules. Ask whether a number describes a vendor default, a legal limit or an agency setting.

A vendor default does not establish an agency setting

Flock's evidence policy describes a default storage period of seven days. That statement does not establish the setting used by a particular customer, the treatment of saved case evidence, or compliance in practice. Source.

Kentucky: read the exceptions with the 90-day provision

KRS 189.632(4) sets a 90-day provision with exceptions, including specified lawful agency purposes, evidence, redacted training data, auditing and preservation demands. It cannot be read as a guarantee that all Kentucky police records disappear on day 90. Source.

Virginia: sightings and audit trails have separate schedules

Section 2.2-5517(E) generally requires system data to be purged after 21 days and audit trail data after two years. Records tied to an ongoing investigation, prosecution or civil action have preservation rules. The section also excludes certain system uses. Source.

North Carolina: a baseline with preservation exceptions

G.S. 20-183.32 starts with 90 days for covered law-enforcement plate data, then allows preservation requests and warrants. A qualifying preservation request can extend retention, and a later request can reset its one-year period. This is not an unconditional deletion deadline. Source.

Local policy can use a different operational window

Louisville's published fixed-reader policy says 30 days, with a separate rule for exported data. Compare the effective policy, applicable statute and actual preservation category instead of treating one number as a universal deadline. Source.

Illinois State Police: one policy, different record types

ISP Directive ENF-051, revised February 26, 2026, specifies 90 days for VehicleManager detections, permanent plate-search and hit/alert records, and 30 days for FlockOS detections. Evidence follows separate procedures. These are ISP policy categories, not one retention period for every Illinois agency or proof of actual deletion. Source.

Questions and answers

Does a shorter default prove old evidence was deleted?

No. Saved evidence and other retention exceptions need separate review.

Are all states covered here?

No. The statutory comparison covers Kentucky, Virginia and North Carolina, with separate vendor, Louisville and Illinois State Police policy examples.

Sources

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