Wyoming License Plate Reader Laws (2026)

Wyoming has no license plate reader statute. We searched every title of the Wyoming Statutes and found nothing that names or regulates plate readers. A new state data privacy law deliberately excludes law enforcement, a 2026 plate reader bill is not law, and a legislative committee working draft on the subject was posted marked not approved for introduction, and its outcome is unverified.

Information reviewed September 30, 2026.

For related pages, see the Wyoming entry in the state comparison, the ALPR laws hub, Are Flock cameras legal?, What are Flock cameras?, and our Wyoming surveillance camera laws guide.

Does Wyoming have a license plate reader law?

No statute we found sets plate reader rules. We downloaded all 44 title PDFs listed on the Legislative Service Office's Wyoming Statutes page, covering titles 1 to 42, 97 and 99, and text-searched them on September 30, 2026. The phrases plate reader, plate recognition, and automatic or automated license or registration plate returned no matches, and neither did vehicle location.

"License plate" does appear, in titles 7, 18, 29, 31 and 33, in registration and issuance provisions, the sex offender registry vehicle field and a ride-hailing driver display rule. We found no camera enforcement or toll data provision in Title 31.

The search covers statutes only. It does not cover agency policies, local ordinances or contracts.

Does Wyoming's new data privacy law cover plate readers?

On its text, not for police. 2026 Enrolled Act 32 (SF0020) created W.S. 9-21-201 to 9-21-203, a personal data privacy article for government. It defines government entity as the state and all political subdivisions, agencies and local governments, but provides that the term "shall not include the judicial branch of government or any law enforcement agency in Wyoming." Law enforcement agency includes county and municipal police, the highway patrol and the Division of Criminal Investigation.

A government entity that is not a law enforcement agency and holds plate data linked to a person could be inside the article. No source we found applies it to plate data, and the act never mentions plate readers. A separate, older provision, W.S. 9-21-101, requires every executive-branch state agency to adopt a policy on the collection, access, security and use of data, with no law enforcement exclusion. On its text that reaches state agencies such as the highway patrol, but it sets no retention period and does not apply to cities or counties.

For covered entities, W.S. 9-21-202 bars purchasing, selling, trading or transferring personal data without the person's express written consent, with exceptions that include transfers to another government entity that complies with the article and to service contractors. W.S. 9-21-203 provides that no government entity shall collect or maintain more personal data than reasonably necessary, and that none shall "maintain personal data for longer than three (3) years without a written policy identifying the extended retention period and providing a reasonable justification." Section 9-21-202 took effect when the act became law in 2026. The 9-21-203 dates are staggered:

• July 1, 2027 for state agencies.
• July 1, 2028 for counties, cities, towns and public institutions of higher education.
• July 1, 2029 for other political subdivisions.

The act also requires the state Chief Information Officer to deliver sample policies by January 1, 2027.

Are Wyoming plate reader records public?

There is no plate reader provision in the Public Records Act. Under W.S. 16-4-203(b)(i), a custodian may deny inspection of "records of investigations conducted by, or of intelligence information or security procedures of, any sheriff, county attorney, city attorney, the attorney general, the state auditor, police department," and of investigatory files compiled for law enforcement or prosecution, on the ground that disclosure would be contrary to the public interest. The denial is discretionary.

We found no Attorney General opinion or court ruling on plate reader records.

Does Wyoming limit sharing plate data with federal agencies?

We found no Wyoming statute that addresses sharing plate data. One general law concerns immigration. W.S. 9-25-102 bars state and local governing bodies from policies that restrict communicating or cooperating with federal officials on immigration status information. W.S. 9-25-101(a)(iv) defines that term as "any information that is not confidential or privileged by law including any statement, document, computer generated data, recording or photograph that is relevant to immigration status or the identity or location of a person who is reasonably believed to be illegally residing within the United States or involved in international terrorism or domestic terrorism as defined in 18 U.S.C. § 2331."

It is a rule favoring sharing. It never mentions license plates. The definition is broad enough that an agency could argue it reaches plate read data, but we found no source that says so, and this page does not say it does.

What did Wyoming courts say about plate readers?

Our web search found no Wyoming Supreme Court or Tenth Circuit opinion on plate readers. That was a web search, not a systematic search of a court database, so it is not proof that none exists.

Is Wyoming considering a plate reader bill?

Not as law. Two items are on our list.

• HB0181 (2026), titled Biometric data and license plate readers-regulation, would have created W.S. 9-30-101 to 9-30-107. Its introduced text provides that, except as otherwise allowed, no governmental entity shall use "an automatic license plate reader system to identify a motor vehicle." It would also have barred installation on public roads and buildings and use to collect tolls, required a warrant, required written policies and added a liability section at 1-39-125. The Legislature's bill record shows its last action as "Did not Consider for Introduction" on February 13, 2026. It is not law.
• Interim bill draft 27LSO-0139, Automatic license plate readers-regulation. The working draft posted for the Select Committee on Blockchain, Financial Technology and Digital Innovation Technology's September 2026 meeting would create W.S. 31-21-101 to 31-21-602, limiting plate reader use to listed government and private purposes and adding hot-list, retention and deletion, vendor and enforcement rules. It is marked not approved for introduction, and we have not confirmed what the committee did with it.

Have Wyoming localities acted?

Two records are in our deployment list, and both come from news reports. The list is not complete.

• Jackson. A news report says the Jackson council unanimously continued its Flock contract in 2026, with the decision dated June 15, 2026, according to newslj.com. A separate policy document titled Flock Database License Plate Reader System, policy 9.29, is hosted by the news site Buckrail with a November 13, 2023 date in its filename. It states that data "will be stored for a period not to exceed 90 days" and then automatically purged, with quarterly audits. The document does not show the department name or adoption, so treat it as a lead to the town's own records and not as a confirmed current policy.
• Cheyenne. Capital City News reported on September 10, 2026 that Cheyenne police have Flock cameras approved and that the council is to decide on renewing the contract by February. We could not open the police department's transparency page.

How can I check my local system?

Because no state statute sets rules, the governing documents are the agency's own. Ask the operating agency for its written plate reader policy, retention setting, who may search the data and its vendor contract. A request under the Public Records Act would be evaluated under the exemption described above. For how the technology works, see What are Flock cameras?.

Last updated: September 30, 2026. This page reflects the statutes and records described above as we reviewed them; it is general legal information, not legal advice.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it legal to use a license plate reader in Wyoming?

We found no Wyoming statute that prohibits, authorizes or regulates plate readers, after searching all 44 title PDFs on September 30, 2026. That is a statutory finding only and does not cover agency policies or local ordinances.

Does Wyoming's 2026 data privacy law apply to police plate readers?

On its text, no. W.S. 9-21-201 defines government entity to exclude any law enforcement agency in Wyoming. A non-police government entity holding plate data linked to a person could be covered, but we found no source applying the act to plate data.

How long can Wyoming police keep license plate reader data?

We found no statute setting a period for law enforcement. The one policy document we found, a Jackson police policy hosted by a news site, says 90 days, but its adoption is not confirmed.

Can I request Wyoming plate reader records?

The Public Records Act applies, and W.S. 16-4-203(b)(i) lets a custodian deny inspection of certain investigation records. We found no ruling on plate reader data.

Is there a pending Wyoming plate reader bill?

HB0181 in 2026 is not law. The Legislature's record shows it was not considered for introduction on February 13, 2026. A committee working draft, 27LSO-0139, was posted for a September 2026 committee meeting, and its outcome is unverified. Nothing is law.