Written & reviewed by External Legal AI · Updated June 26, 2026
For someone leaving an abusive or dangerous situation, a new address only protects them if it stays private — and addresses leak through government records, court filings, and data brokers by default. Most states run an Address Confidentiality Program (ACP) built exactly for this, and several other shields stack on top of it.
The large majority of states run an ACP, usually out of the Secretary of State's or Attorney General's office. Participants get a substitute address that state and local agencies must accept on public records, and the program forwards first-class mail to the real address, which stays sealed. The real address never enters the public record in the first place — which is the whole point, since records are nearly impossible to claw back.
Programs are generally open to survivors of domestic violence, stalking, sexual assault, and human trafficking — some states add reproductive-health workers and others at risk. Enrollment typically goes through a trained application assistant, often a victim advocate at a local program, rather than a walk-in form. Participation is usually free and renewable.
Voter rolls are public in most states, so ACPs pair with confidential-voter procedures: participants typically vote absentee through the program's substitute address, and some states offer separate protected-voter status even outside the ACP. The state ACP or the local election office can confirm which applies.
The federal Driver's Privacy Protection Act, 18 U.S.C. § 2721, restricts who can pull personal information from DMV records, and it has real exceptions — so most states layer extra suppression for ACP participants and let the license itself display the substitute address. Updating the DMV record is one of the first steps after enrolling.
Petitions, custody filings, and even small-claims forms ask for addresses, and court files are largely public. Most protective-order forms have a confidential-address option, and clerks can explain how to request that an address be kept under seal in other case types. The safest habit is asking before filing anything, not after.
Data brokers republish addresses from utility hookups, deliveries, and old records; schools and employers keep their own files. Common countermeasures: a PO box or commercial mail receiving agency for everything non-governmental, opt-out requests to the major people-search sites, and asking schools and employers to flag the file. Local DV programs help build a full safety plan around this.
More on this topic: the Safety hub
NotALawyer.com provides general legal information, not legal advice.