San Francisco, CA Privacy & Surveillance: License Plate Readers (2026)

Administrative Code Chapter 19B builds its regime on the definition in Sec. 1. Surveillance Technology covers any software, electronic device, or system using an electronic device that is used, designed, or primarily intended to collect, retain, process, or share audio, electronic, visual, location, thermal, biometric, olfactory, or similar information specifically associated with, or capable of being associated with, any individual or group. The definition then lists covered tools by name, and automatic license plate readers appear on that list alongside IMSI catchers and other cell site simulators, electric toll readers, and closed-circuit television cameras.

Naming ALPRs expressly removes any argument that plate readers fall outside the chapter. The consequence is procedural: before SFPD can acquire, borrow, or expand its use of ALPRs, the department must publish a Surveillance Impact Report, obtain a recommendation from COIT, and secure Board of Supervisors approval of a Surveillance Technology Policy passed as an ordinance. That policy is what governs how the devices are deployed, how long the data is retained, and the sharing rules for what they collect. San Francisco's most recent ALPR-specific measure on file here is Ordinance 255-23, effective 1/19/2024.