Three local women sued state Department of Transportation officials in federal court Thursday, alleging that the department illegally sold drivers’ personal information to firms that made it available for sale on the Internet.

Plaintiffs Margaret M. Kraege, of Madison; Kelly C. Tomko, of Rio; and Stephanie A. Tomko, of Windsor, are seeking class action certification for their lawsuit against DOT Secretary Frank Busalacchi and Lynn Judd, administrator of the state Division of Motor Vehicles.

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Madison, alleges that Busalacchi, Judd and up to 10 other unknown persons violated the federal Driver’s Privacy Protection Act by selling personal information of tens of thousands of licensed Wisconsin drivers to Shadowsoft, a Texas corporation specializing in public records database distribution. Shadowsoft in turn sold it to PublicData, which made the information available for search and sale on its Web site, the lawsuit alleges.

The federal act, which took effect in 2000, restricts access to driver records to protect the privacy of individuals.

The lawsuit also seeks to include as plaintiffs anyone licensed to drive in Wisconsin from June 4, 2004 and forward whose personal information was disclosed to Shadowsoft or PublicData.

The suit is similar to one currently pending before a the federal court in Missouri, led by attorneys who are associated with the Wisconsin lawsuit.

DOT spokeswoman Peg Schmitt said officials probably hadn’t been served with the lawsuit Thursday and could not comment on it.

But by law, she said, certain groups can request information from DOT for limited purposes, which include writing and renewing insurance policies, billing and paying of insurance claims, vehicle safety recall notifications and law enforcement.

Drivers can opt out of data requests involving 10 or more records by filing a form with DOT, Schmitt said.