AAMVA is committed to pursuing its mission of serving North American motor vehicle and law enforcement agencies in accordance with the highest ethical standards and in full compliance with the requirements of federal, state, provincial, and territorial laws. A vital element of this commitment is our Antitrust Compliance Policy.

Federal, state, provincial, and territorial antitrust laws protect and promote competition by prohibiting contracts, combinations, and conspiracies that constitute unreasonable restraints of trade. Since some activities of associations like AAMVA bring together competitors; association activities can generate vulnerability for both associations and their members—particularly those members that are business organizations. In addition to governmental antitrust enforcement actions, association activities can be fertile ground for antitrust claims by private plaintiffs.

Typical areas of antitrust sensitivity for organizations like AAMVA include, but are not limited to:

• Price Fixing: Agreements by association members that compete with each other outside the association to set or fix prices of goods or services sold by association members present significant risks under the antitrust laws;
• Customer or Geographic Allocations: Agreements among association members to divide or allocate customers or geographic areas could be challenged as per se violations of the antitrust laws; and
• Information Exchange/Best Practices: Information exchange and best practices programs conducted by associations like AAMVA very often serve pro-competitive purposes and can support other legitimate governmental purposes. However, depending on the relevant facts and circumstances, these activities can be vulnerable under the antitrust laws if they facilitate price-fixing or otherwise have anticompetitive effects.

To this end, AAMVA is fully committed to ensuring that anyone working on behalf of AAMVA including all employees, contractors, consultants, and volunteers, to include individuals representing jurisdictional and associate members, are under an obligation to conduct all AAMVA business dealings in full compliance with all applicable antitrust laws.

Potential violations of AAMVA’s Antitrust Policy should be reported on AAMVA’s confidential hotline at the Ethics Point website or by calling 855.231.7509. In consultation with AAMVA’s Legal Counsel, AAMVA’s Compliance Officer shall promptly investigate reported violations of this policy and take appropriate action up to and including termination of participation in AAMVA.

Approved by the AAMVA Board of Directors, August 24, 2020