In the US, it is prohibited legally to track someone’s address simply from a license plate number due to the Privacy Act. While it is possible in some cases, there are legalities that prevent the release of personal information. This blog will discuss the details that can be obtained from a license plate, whether it is possible to find someone’s home address from this number and the legal ways to find an individual’s address using a license plate.
What Information Can I Find by License Plate Lookup?
A license plate lookup can furnish some information to a certain extent depending on the source obtained. Primarily, it will identify the automobile make, model, year, and registration number. It can also be useful for learning additional information about previous accidents or the owner of the car. However, the owner’s name, address, and contact information are restricted under the Driver’s Privacy Protection Act (DPPA) to uphold the privacy and security of the information.
Publicly available information includes:
- Vehicle information (brand, model, year, color)
- Registration status and expiration date
- Previous history of accidents and damages to the property if any.
- Recall information (depending on state regulations)
In most cases, unless you have a legitimate reason backed by law (e.g., legal investigations, insurance claims), you won’t be able to obtain personal information like the owner’s address.
Can Someone Find Your Address from Your License Plate?
Normally, it will be hard for someone to locate your address using your license plate number. However, the DPPA in the US restricts the use of private information like addresses if not legally allowed. The information is usually served to government organizations, police departments, insurance companies, and licensed private detectives.
How to Find Address from License Plate
While finding an address from a license plate isn’t easy, there are legal methods that may work under the right circumstances. Let’s discuss the available methods to get the address from the license plate number:
Contact the DMV
The Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) in every state contains the most complete information on your vehicle and driver history, as well as your personal data. However, it is important to note that these records are not easily accessible to the public. To get the address of a person through DMV one has to show the legal reason such as a court order to do so or an investigation in relation to an insurance claim.
Steps to Contact the DMV:
- Gather the license plate number and any other relevant vehicle details.
- Visit or contact your state’s DMV office.
- Submit a formal request explaining your legitimate reason for accessing the information (e.g., insurance claim, legal investigation).
- Await the DMV’s decision, which may take time depending on the state and case.
Hire a Licensed Private Investigator
A licensed private investigator (PI) has access to databases that are off-limits to the public. PIs are privileged to gather information from the DMV or any other legal means since they possess credentials.
Steps to Hire a Private Investigator:
- Research and contact a reputable PI service in your area.
- Explain your situation and why you need the information.
- Provide the license plate number and any supporting details.
- Pay the required fee and allow time for the investigator to gather the information.
Report the License Plate to Law Enforcement
In case of an accident, if you require the details of a particular car’s owner for an insurance claim, you may contact the insurance company and they would provide the person’s address. A carrier has access to the records of the DMV in matters concerning the car in dispute.
Steps to Report a License Plate to Law Enforcement:
- Visit your local police department or call the non-emergency line.
- Provide the license plate number and explain your reason for needing the address (e.g., a crime or accident).
- Law enforcement will investigate and decide whether they can share the information with you or use it to pursue legal action.
Check Insurance or Legal Reasons
If you’re involved in an accident and need to find the owner of a vehicle for insurance purposes, your insurance company may assist in locating the person’s address. Insurers have access to DMV records in cases involving vehicle-related claims.
Steps to Use Insurance for License Plate Lookup:
- Contact your insurance provider and explain the situation.
- Provide the license plate number and incident details.
- The insurance company will request the necessary records to proceed with the claim.
Use an Online License Plate Address Lookup Service
Several online services offer license plate lookups, but they typically provide vehicle-related information rather than personal details. While some websites claim to find personal information, it’s important to approach these sites cautiously and understand that their success rate varies.
Here’s a look at three popular online tools to locate address by license plate:
EpicVIN
EpicVIN is a reliable service for vehicle history reports that provides all the necessary data through the license plate number search. It contains such information as title history, accidents, and repairs to assist buyers in their decisions while buying a used car. EpicVIN can guarantee legal compliance and protect data from outside interference as well as provide a comprehensible interface.
- Visit the EpicVIN website.
- Enter the vehicle’s license plate or VIN number.
- Select the state (Massachusetts, etc.).
- Click “Check Plate” to retrieve the vehicle’s history.
InfoTracer
Using InfoTracer, the user can carry out a reverse license plate lookup where they get informational data of a particular vehicle type, make, model, and year. The service recognizes the DPPA regulation, which protects the users’ information and data, to the maximum level possible.
- Go to InfoTracer’s website.
- Enter the vehicle’s plate number and select the state.
- Choose a DPPA-compliant reason to access the report.
- Register to view detailed results.
VINCheck.info
VINCheck offers free plate lookups but focuses mainly on vehicle history, similar to EpicVIN. While helpful for learning about a car’s past, it is unlikely to reveal the owner’s address without a legitimate legal reason.
- Visit VinCheck.info.
- Enter the license plate number.
- Select the vehicle’s state.
- Click “Search” to retrieve the vehicle’s history report.
- Review the detailed information provided.
Alternative Methods to Find Someone’s Address
If you are unable to find someone’s address using their license plate, you may consider these alternative methods to find address by license plate:
Find Someone’s Address by Phone Number
One reliable method is to use a reverse phone lookup service. Websites like MLocator allow you to input a phone number and find the corresponding address. It’s a quick way to track someone if you have their number.
- Enter the phone number you want to search.
- MLocator will scan databases for the phone number’s owner.
- View the report, which includes information like name, address, and mobile carrier.
Find Someone’s Address by Name
If you seek to search with the names, AnyWho has a direct, hassle-free name search for the full name if known. With this tool, you can find the addresses and phone numbers by name in the US, which makes it suitable for searching for the address of a certain person.
- Visit the AnyWho website.
- Choose the People Search option.
- Type in the complete name of the person in the search bar.
- Include the city or state for enhanced accuracy.
- Click Search to reveal the result, which is the address and phone number.
Find Someone’s Address by Email
If you only have someone’s email, Social Catfish offers a reverse email lookup service. By entering an email address, you may be able to find associated information such as their physical address or social media profiles.
- Visit the Social Catfish website.
- Select “Reverse Email Address Search.”
- Enter the email address you want to investigate.
- Click “Search” to begin the lookup.
- Review the search results to find associated names, addresses, and social accounts.
FAQ
Can you look up the owner by license plate in Colorado?
No you cannot search a car owner by the license plate number in Colorado if you don’t have the legal reason to do it like a police officer.
Can I find the name by license plate lookup?
No, most of the time a person’s information including a vehicle owner’s name cannot be disclosed as this falls under the category that the DPPA covers unless accessed by legal authorities or a licensed investigator.
How to look up if someone reported your license plate?
To find out if someone reported your license plate, you should visit your local DMV or police station. They can confirm whether a report has been made and let you know what the next course of action is.
Wrap Up
It is not very easy to find someone’s address from their license plate number since there are legal stipulations like the DPPA in place. There are of course, legal ways of getting the information such as hiring a private investigator or getting it from the DMV, but these are for more or less, formal uses of the information. However, ways such as reverse phone or name lookups offer other legal methods to search for someone’s address.
