California License Plate Lookup

The Golden State issues license plates for a wide range of vehicles, including passenger vehicles, commercial vehicles, motorcycles, farm equipment, mopeds and trailers. While most states have owners transfer plates between vehicles, California’s system keeps plates with the vehicle over its life. The state even has programs to keep decades-old plates with antique vehicles.

To register a vehicle in California, you need a signed title, and you need to pay applicable title transfer fees and use taxes. These fees vary from county to county. Gas-powered cars that are more than four years old also need a smog certification. If you buy a vehicle from a dealer, they must get the car smog certified before selling it to you, unless it was already certified less than 90 days ago.

Plates must be renewed every year. Although license plates can be transferred to different vehicles, they usually stay with the vehicle through its life. If the plates are lost or damaged, new plates with the same number will be reissued. If they were an older vanity design, a new standard plate will be issued in its place. Under normal circumstances, plates are legal for use as far back as 1964. Under the Year of Manufacturer (YOM) program, even older plates can be used on antique vehicles.

Standard auto, commercial and trailer license plates use 7 characters, while motorcycle and other vehicle plates use 6 characters. There are two types of California vanity plates: charity plates and special plates. Custom number plates can have 2-7 characters, while charity and special plates have space for up to 6 characters. All vanity motorcycle plates have space for 5 characters. The Year Of Manufacture (YOM) program lets owners register model year 1969 and earlier vehicles with vintage California plates.

How are we able to look up vehicle information based solely on a license plate number? When vehicles are registered in California, that information becomes part of the public record. This record also includes the model and VIN. Our search engine uses this to find official records and create a registration history. If you order a full report, we use this information to search through government and insurance records to build a full history of the vehicle.

Vehicle owner information is protected across the United States by the Driver Privacy Protection Act (DPPA), Federal Statute 18 USC 2721. This prevents public access of any personal information in your vehicle or driver’s license records, including social security numbers, driver license numbers, names, addresses and telephone numbers, as well as any disability or medical information. The California Vehicle Code also protects photographs, email addresses and insurance information that may be part of your vehicle record. The only identifying information released to the public is the first and last names of previous owners. Our license plate and DMV VIN check tools only show you information you are legally allowed to view.

There are exceptions to these rules for specific uses, including vehicle recalls, government business, vehicle impounding, and verifying personal information for insurance and professional driving jobs. You can also give written consent to third parties to access this information.

When you order a full California license plate report, you’ll get information pulled from federal, state and corporate databases. Here’s what you’ll learn from one of these reports:

1. Vehicle Information

This includes sales records, title history, lien records, registration information, and factory specifications. This lets you verify the sales listing matches the vehicle, and it doesn’t have outstanding loans or title issues that could keep you from registering the vehicle.

2. Rebuild and Repair Records

Are you worried about buying a car that has hidden accident damage or a washed title? This part of the report covers title brands, recalls, odometer discrepancies and maintenance information. That way, you can steer clear of cars that were totaled in another state or are likely to have safety or mechanical issues.

3. Traffic Court Records

While this won’t tell you information about the car directly, it can tell you how the vehicle was treated, and where there may be gaps in other records. This section includes accidents, traffic violations, license suspension, expired registrations, renewal reference numbers (RRNs), fines and convictions. This helps you avoid cars that were used for street racing, or may have unreported damage from accidents.

4. Public Records

These records include DUI and DWI arrests, warrants and more. Like traffic court records, this doesn’t tell you about the car directly. However, it does give you an idea of how the vehicle was treated by previous owners.