Lookup License Plate | How To Find License Plate Number By VIN

A vehicle can be recognized through its license plate number and VIN (Vehicle Identification Number). These two numbers are essential pieces of information that can be used to gather data found on vehicle documents. Therefore, you can find the information you need if you have one of these numbers. For example, you can find the license plate number if you have the VIN.

How to find your license plate number

Find your vehicle registration.
The license plate number is usually on the back of your automobile registration under “Plate Type”.
Find your insurance card.
If you’ve bought car insurance, you can go to the website and search for the insurance card. It contains all of your personal information and car information including your license plate number.
Go to the mechanic store.
If your car has been repaired, find the mechanic store, they usually take records on the car and they may have the records of the car’s license plate.

If you can’t find your license plate number through these ways, find your VIN to search for your license plate number.

Step 1: Find your VIN

The VIN is a vehicle identification number, which is a unique identifier on every car. 17 letters and numbers together make up a VIN that gives information and locates a specific car so that you can find the license plate attached to the vehicle.

The car’s VIN is usually located on the driver’s side dashboard, in the lower-left corner of the dashboard, in front of the steering wheel. You can look through the windshield from outside the car to find the VIN.

In my opinion, the best way to find your VIN is from your vehicle’s paperwork, such as the owner’s manual, the vehicle’s registration, or insurance documents. You should find the VIN there.

If you don’t have access to the vehicle or its documentation, you can try contacting your car insurance company. They should be able to provide you with a digital copy of your insurance, where you can search for the VIN. Alternatively, you can contact the dealership from which you purchased the vehicle. They may have records of your vehicle’s VIN.

Step 2: Find the license plate number by VIN

If you are the owner of the vehicle, going to the local DMV is the best way to find the license plate number. However, if the vehicle is not under your name or you want to search anonymously, you’d better move to method 2, using third-party services to search.

Method 1 – Government agency

If the reason behind finding license plate number by VIN is to trace down certain documents like this user, then the government office should be your go-to option¹.

Take the United States as an example, the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) database stores all information related to a vehicle. You can use VINs to search for a specific car and get the license plate number.

We recommend that you try an online search first if your region has an official DMV website. The best result is that you can find the information on the state DMV website; if not, you can find a DMV near you, the opening and closing hours, the things you need to prepare, and find assistance. You may need to explain to the officer why you need to search for the car’s license plate; they might ask you several questions, request a valid photo ID, your date of birth, and more.

Image from Pennsylvania government website

Note that the services and price may vary from State to State, you’d better make a phone call before heading to the DMV.
You can get an accurate answer from DMV with reasonable grounds, but if you don’t want to be “interrogated”, you can try other methods below.

If you’re searching for cars in another country, like this user, beginning with the country’s government agency is crucial. The user wants to trace their old car back by finding a license plate number based on the car’s VIN number. To accomplish this, they should go to RDW, the Netherlands’s government agency for information.²

Method 2 – Search VIN on BeenVerified

BeenVerified is one of the best professional people search engines. It allows users to use VINs to search for all related information about the car. Back up by billions of real-sourced data, both from governments and the public, BeenVerified can offer users detailed reports about things you’re looking for. What’s more, by running a VIN lookup, you will not only get important details including the history of a vehicle but also access its powerful name search and phone lookup.

1) Visit the BeenVerified vehicle search page.

2) Enter a VIN number + State to search.

3) You can find the previous owner in the Owner Details. Then you can search for this person on BeenVerified to get more helpful information.

Method 3 – Find the license plate with Bumper

Bumper is one of the best vehicle search websites to help you gather important information about a vehicle. Bumper provides a report containing the vehicle’s accident history, salvage, theft records, branded titles, standard equipment, manufacturer recalls, equipment and trim specifications, sale history, market value, ownership costs, and much more details.

1) Go to Bumper.

2) Enter the VIN Number and click SEARCH.

3) Bumper will search on its database and give you a report that contains the information you need.

Method 4 – Ask for help on the forum

You can seek assistance from the online community by posting your query on popular car forums or active platforms like Reddit, where kind-hearted netizens often offer valuable suggestions and help eagerly. For example, this user wanted to find the registration plate number of a car based on its VIN to check for mileage rollback and obtain the full history before a test drive and negotiation of the price. Forumites helped the person figure it out and offered useful suggestions regarding the vehicle’s history.³

Whether you’re searching for a license plate number by VIN or other car information, you can receive useful advice.”

Final words

Reasons for searching for your license plate number vary, you may lose your license plate number and you’re allowed to drive a car without it. You may need to double-check the license plate number before selling a vehicle to others, etc. Well, we hope this content can help you find license plate numbers by VIN. Please leave your message below if you want to share your story with us.

Registration [shuxxx]. (2022, December 15). Finding old registration number from VIN number [Online forum post]. whirlpool. https://forums.whirlpool.net.au/archive/3rvjnjjm ↩︎
r/Netherlands [Paradubs]. (2023, January 10). Finding license plate based on VIN [Online forum post]. Reddit. https://www.reddit.com/r/Netherlands/comments/107pk10/finding_license_plate_based_on_vin/ ↩︎
Regional Forums [patriotaki]. (2019, October 21). Find registration from vin [Online forum post] Bimmerpost. https://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1662464 ↩︎

There’s no guarantee you’ll find the information you’re looking for with the tools discussed in this article. They all source their information from publicly available data sources, such as county, state and federal courts, government departments, and police records, and those sources may contain incorrect or incomplete data. It’s illegal to use these tools to make decisions about employment, admission, consumer credit, insurance, tenant screening, or any other purpose that would require FCRA compliance. Read the Fair Credit Reporting Act to learn more....

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Iris Zheng

Writer

I have worked as a content writer for years and have found great joy and meaning in this profession. As a member of a company's writing team, I have benefited from continuous training and learning opportunities. These experiences have not only improved my research skills and learning abilities but have also enabled me to quickly find valuable and accurate information in the vast sea of data.

My previous work in banking instilled meticulous work habits in me. I carefully inspect and verify information I collect with the aim of providing readers with authentic and reliable content. My skills and cautious nature not only allow me to offer robust support to readers in my professional life but also position me as a source of information and advice for my family and friends in my personal life.

I derive immense enjoyment and a profound sense of accomplishment from assisting others. If my articles are able to assist you in any way, it would be both an honor and a personal achievement. This motivation will continue to inspire me to pursue constant improvement and produce more valuable content.