To complete the registration and titling of your vehicle in MO, go to your local licensing office and: Present ownership documents for the vehicle (e.g. The title or previous state registration). If you still owe money on the vehicle and a lienholder has the title, you will need to contact. It is legitimate and legal to lookup a license plate number, when a buyer is looking for a custom plate. They can use a look up service to find out if the plate is available for purchase. The DMV websites of most states offer a service that allows users to check if the license plate that they want is available.
If you have a legitimate reason to track down the owner of a car under the Driver Privacy Protection Act, you can file an Information Request Form with the Secretary of State of Illinois. You can find this form, VSD 354, on the Secretary of State's website.
The federal Driver Privacy Protection Act (18 U.S.C. sec. 2721 et seq.) has had an impact on license plate lookups in many states, including Illinois. The law prohibits states from disclosing the name, address and other personal information of a car owner without the person's permission.
The law sets up a fairly long list of exceptions of agencies and people to whom states can release personal information and the circumstances in which the information can be released. The exceptions include use by governmental agencies, matters of motor vehicle or driver safety and theft, and the use of the information in a court action or even in anticipation of litigation.
Illinois tracks down the owner of a car by essentially running a license plate search for you. That is, you provide a license number, and the state provides title or registration information, such as the owner's name and information. However, you must affirm that your reason for seeking the information is permissible under the Driver Privacy Protection Act.
The form is called VSD 375. You can find it on the Secretary of State's website. Be aware, however, that the website isn't called 'Illinois Secretary of State.com' or anything you might expect. The website's name is CyberDriveIllinois.com.
From the website home page, click on the 'Publications/Forms' tab on the top of the page, then on 'Motorist,' followed by 'Title and Registration.' The form is called 'Secretary of State Information Request Form, VSD 375.'
Download and open VSD 375, and then print and complete it. Enter your name and address, then pick the search you want: title, registration, certified title or certified registration. Each has a different fee, ranging from $5 to $10. Enter credit card information to pay the fee.
In the next section, provide whatever information you have about the vehicle or driver. If all you have is the license number, fill it in. You can also put in the VIN, the year and make of the car and/or the owner of the vehicle.
Finally, you must state the exception to the Driver Privacy Protection Act under which your request falls. You also must give the reason you want the information. When finished, send the application to: Secretary of State, Record Inquiry Section, 501 S. Second St., Rm. 408, Springfield, IL 62756-8888.
Whether you're trying to track down a bad driver or someone who keeps leaving their car outside your house, you can often find out who they are and how to contact them from their license plate number and a simple Google search. Security expert Brandon Gregg explains:
You would be surprised that even license plate information can be found online. An old trick I use to use back in the day was searching Government Smog check sites for the plate. Not only would they say if the car passed or not, often the website would list the smog shop that serviced the car or VIN # of the car. Then I would search on the VIN # for more details and/or ask the smog shop for the vehicle owner's information.
Advertisement
If that doesn't work, Brandon also notes that there are a few other options available to you. While it's unlikely you'll be able to get the information covertly, you can use a Request for Record Information (INF 70) form to identify a car owner. Additionally, some states (like my home state of Minnesota allow you to go to a simple database site and pay a small fee. TLO is one example and will get you the make, model, and color of the vehicle as well.
Using these techniques is a small invasion of a person's privacy, but it's always good to know what kind of information a motivated person could dig up about you. (Make sure you have a good reason for doing so before you start identifying license plates left and right.)
Advertisement
Photo by SimonasP (Shutterstock).