FBI Seeks Nationwide License Plate Reader Access, Procurement Docs Show

Procurement records reviewed by 404 Media reveal the FBI is pursuing a contract for nationwide access to automated license plate reader (ALPR) data. Such access would effectively give the bureau the ability to reconstruct the movements of vehicles—and the people inside them—across the United States, with no warrant requirement attached to the data pulls.

The documents underscore how ALPRs have moved well beyond municipal policing into the federal surveillance toolkit, with vendors like Flock and Motorola supplying ever-expanding camera networks. The timing is notable: the FBI’s interest is escalating just as civil liberties groups, local officials, and residents in several cities are organizing against the technology over concerns about mass tracking, retention, and abuse.