When buying a used car or encountering a suspicious vehicle, it’s essential to check if the car is stolen to ensure your safety and legal compliance. And conducting a license plate lookup can provide valuable information including the theft records.

In this comprehensive guide, we will detail everything you should know about license plate searches and walk you through the step-by-step process of performing a license plate search responsibly and effectively.

What is license plate lookup?

License plate lookup is an online process that allows you to access public information associated with a specific license plate number.

DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) does not offer a free license plate search to the general public. However, there are online platforms that utilize data from various sources, including the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and other public records, to generate comprehensive search reports.

What can you learn from a vehicle license plate search?

A license plate search report can furnish valuable details about the vehicle, such as:

How to perform a license plate lookup and check if a car is stolen

As mentioned above, there are online services that allow you to conduct license plate searches. Here we introduce BeenVerified and Bumper, both powered by Bumper, an Approved NMVTIS Data Provider.

BeenVerified License Plate Lookup

With 10+ years of experience in providing users access to billions of records from leading sources, BeenVerified is reputable when it comes to people searches and background checks.

However, it is more than people search. BeenVerified also allows users to perform vehicle searches by VIN or license plate.

To check if a car is stolen by license plate, all you have to do is:

1. Go to BeenVerified’s Vehicle Search page.

2. Under the Search by License Plate section, enter the plate number into the search bar, select the state that issued it, then hit the SEARCH button.

3. Wait for BeenVerified to scan the public records sources and find the information about the car you’re searching for.

When a report is ready, you’ll need to select a membership plan in order to view all the details. Then navigate to the Theft Records section and check if there are reports for the stolen car.

Currently, BeenVerified offers two membership plans:

• 1 Month Membership – $29.99/mo (100 reports per month)
• 3 Month Membership – $19.49/mo (100 reports per month)

And you may be able to claim offers by the time you use their services.

If you have any questions or need any assistance, do not hesitate to reach out to the support team:

Tel: 1-866-885-6480
Email: support@beenverified.com

Bumper License Plate Lookup

When it comes to researching a vehicle, Bumper.com comes in handy. It compiles reliable, regularly updated information from NMVTIS, JD Power, NHTSA, and many other top industry data sources to help you make an informed decision.

To gain access to a comprehensive vehicle history report and check if the car is stolen, take these three steps:

1. Visit Bumper’s License Plate Lookup page.

2. Enter the license plate into the search bar and select the state where the plate was issued.

3. Wait for Bumper to search for records from multiple public records sources. When it finds your match and a report is ready, you’ll need to purchase a membership plan.

Should you require any assistance, feel free to contact the support team:

Tel: 1-332-225-9745
Email: support@bumper.com

Other ways to check if a car is stolen

In addition to using online services, there are a few other methods you can use to check if a car is stolen by its license plate. Below we’ll explore these methods along with step-by-step instructions:

Method 1: Contact Law Enforcement

One of the most reliable ways to verify if a car is stolen is by contacting your local law enforcement agency. Here’s how you can do it:

1. Take note of the license plate number of the vehicle you suspect might be stolen.

2. Look up the non-emergency police contact number for your area. You can find this information online or in your local directory. When you call, provide the license plate number to the police operator and inform them of your concerns about the vehicle’s potential theft.

3. The police will use the license plate number to run a check through their databases. They will then inform you if the vehicle is reported stolen or if there are any concerns related to it.

Method 2: Check with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV)

Although the Department of Motor Vehicles doesn’t allow users to do license plate searches online, they might accept your inquiry about the status of a vehicle when you go to the nearest DMV office.

Once you go there, provide them with your legit reasons for acquiring the information on a specific vehicle, as well as the license plate number.

If approved, the DMV will process your request and provide you with information regarding the vehicle’s registration and potential reports of theft.

So this is everything you should know about the methods on how to check if a car is stolen by the license plate. Let us know if you could find the information you need till the end.