Can I Register A Car For Two Owners?

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Sometimes you lot take a legitimate reason to track down the registered owner of a vehicle, merely the but information yous have is a license plate number. This might happen if you lot are the victim of a hit-and-run, and just managed to take a moving-picture show of the tag equally the automobile was screeching away from the scene. However, in the U.S. and other countries, governments heavily regulate who has access to this data to protect private privacy. Finding a vehicle's registered owner using simply a license plate number is possible, just tin can exist extremely hard.^[1]

1
Place the reason you need to find the possessor. Almost governments restrict access to information about registered owners of motor vehicles for privacy reasons. Before yous tin can get personal information virtually the possessor of the vehicle, you'll demand to demonstrate that yous accept a legitimate reason.^[2]
- For example, you might demand to find the owner of a vehicle if you've been involved in an accident, or if you're conducting research that involves statistics about motor vehicle ownership. You might also need access to this information as part of your job (eastward.k., if you lot're an insurance amanuensis or someone in accuse of towing or impounding vehicles).^[3]
- Giving false information or lying near your reason for seeking the information on a authorities form or other legal document may result in fines or fifty-fifty jail fourth dimension, depending on the laws where yous live.
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Contact law enforcement. If you are the victim of a hit-and-run, or if finding the vehicle's registered owner is a matter of public rubber, call on local police to assistance you. They take more resources to track downwardly the possessor.^[4]
- You may not be given the data yourself, just the police will aid with whatever y'all need to do. For case, if someone abandoned a car in the parking lot of your business concern, the police could aid you contact the owner to remove the vehicle from your property.
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Notice out equally much equally you can on your own. If all you have is a license plate number, it can be extremely hard to detect out the name of the possessor. More data gives you a greater hazard of success.^[5]
- If you took a picture of the tag, you probably too know the colour of the car, perchance even the make and model. Practise an image search online to narrow down the machine'south year.
- From the plate itself, yous can effigy out the country that issued the plate, and maybe even the city or canton where it was registered. You also can discover out whether the tag has expired.
4
Talk to your insurance company. If the driver was responsible for damage to your vehicle or your property, you demand to file an insurance claim. Insurance claims agents have additional resources to locate the commuter of the vehicle.^[6]
- Provided your insurance company accepts the claim, they typically will take care of locating and suing the owner of the vehicle. Depending on the outcome, y'all may never accept whatsoever reason to learn the driver's identity yourself.
5
Try to observe out the vehicle identification number (VIN). In some places, you lot must have the VIN besides every bit the tag number to get whatsoever information at all about the registered owner. This helps forestall imitation identification.^[7]
- If the license plate number wasn't issued for that vehicle, the search results will note that. You may get results for both the VIN number and the plate number.
- You also can look for information by looking up the car's VIN. Y'all may accept to pay a fee for a VIN study, but information technology can give yous boosted information nigh the owner (although y'all may not be able to find out their name).
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1
Locate the government function in accuse of registering motor vehicles. If vehicles have license plates, in that location is a government bureau that issues those plates and tracks them. The rules regarding who can access that information depend on the state, state, or province that issued the license plate.^[8]
- This tin exist somewhat difficult if the license plate was issued in a faraway place. If yous accept to transport your request through the mail, expect information technology to have weeks if not months to go a consequence.
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Review authorized reasons for accessing data. Privacy laws protect drivers by only assuasive certain information to be shown under express circumstances. The allowed reasons vary depending on the state that issued the license plate.^[nine]
- Typically y'all tin discover a list of authorized reasons online. Look for the official website of the government agency that issued the license plate.
- If you lot can't notice the data online, yous can e'er call a motor vehicles bureau part and enquire. Explain that y'all want to find a vehicle's registered owner and the only data you have is a license plate number. Tell them why, and they volition tell you what they can do to assist you lot, if anything.
- In some places, you lot won't be able to detect out the proper name of the vehicle'south registered owner for whatsoever reason, absent the owner's cognition and permission.^[ten]
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Complete an information asking form. The request form requires y'all to provide data about yourself and the reason you lot are requesting the information. If it comes with instructions, read them carefully earlier you lot get-go filling out the course.^[11]
- Provide every bit much information well-nigh the vehicle, in addition to the license plate number, as you lot can. The more data you accept, the more than likely you will get a useful result.
- You may be able to discover a copy of the form online. Look on the official website for the motor vehicles section or agency that issued the license plate.
- If you're trying to locate the title of a vehicle, go through your state's Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). You lot'll take to fill out a form and pay any applicable fees.^[12]
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Submit all required documents and fees. You must pay a fee for your search, which will vary only generally will exist less than $l. Depending on the location and how yous submit your form, you may be required to show proof of identity.^[13]
- Some governments may require documents or other information to back up the reason yous are requesting data about the owner of the vehicle.
- Fees typically are based on the cost of the search, not whether whatsoever usable results are returned. If you get results, y'all may accept to pay additional fees for copying.^[14]
- Make a copy of everything for your personal records before y'all send it.
5
Receive the results of your request. In some cases, you lot may get results from your request immediately. Typically, though, the agency will need some time to procedure your request and will mail you the results.^[xv]
- You lot may want to follow upwardly with the agency if you don't hear annihilation inside two to 4 weeks of submitting your forms.
- Once you lot get the information, yous may have to do boosted enquiry. For example, you lot may get the registered possessor's first and last name, but not their address. You may be able to find a concluding known accost or phone number for the person by doing a search online of their name.
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Report car accidents or crimes to the law. If you lot are the victim of a hitting-and-run, or if you witnessed a crime or car blow, permit local law enforcement handle it. They tin can track down the possessor of the vehicle for you.^[16]
- While you probably won't exist given personal admission to the driver's information, it will exist made available to your insurance visitor if you lot filed a merits.
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1
Look for a individual investigator online. A basic online search will produce web pages of local private investigators equally well equally investigators who piece of work entirely online. Compare the offerings on these web pages and meet if something volition work for you.^[17]
- Do your own research on whatever website you lot notice to make sure it'southward a legitimate service and not a scam. If the folio advertises a licensed investigator, you tin can cheque that license's status with the state or local agency that issued the license.
- Web searches can be particularly useful if the license plate was issued in a place far from you. Look for someone based there for best results.
2
Try an online search service. There are many online services that will comb through public records to find the person who was issued a particular license plate. All the same, most of these services charge fees and may not deliver the results you lot demand.^[18]
- Search for sites that offer "license plate lookup" services, such as PeoplePublicRecords.org, to find out basic information near the vehicle, such as whether the driver has a criminal history or the car has been involved in accidents.^[19]
- Many of these websites are scams, and may mislead you into believing they have the results you need and and so charging you high fees before you can even look at the results. When you get the information, it may be inaccurate or outdated.
- In nearly places, it is illegal for anyone outside law enforcement to run a license plate number to get information on a person. This doesn't mean that it's incommunicable to detect a vehicle's registered possessor using just a license plate number, merely online services that claim to offer instantaneous results are probably scams.
3
Contact a local investigator. If the license plate was issued locally, yous may want to rent a private investigator to runway down the owner of the vehicle. Look online or in your local phone volume to find the names and contact information for individual investigators nigh you.^[20]
- Interview the investigator in person before yous hire them, and make sure you understand how their services piece of work and how you volition be billed. Hiring a private investigator can become expensive, so if yous have whatever upkeep limitations you need to talk over costs upfront.
- Most governments require private investigators to exist licensed. Ask for the investigator's licensing data and make sure it's valid and upwards to date.
- Talk to the investigator specifically virtually what you want and why. Detect out if they've done similar searches in the past, and whether they were successful in finding the vehicle's registered owner.
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Enquiry whatsoever investigator's background and experience. Before you hire a private investigator, you need to do a niggling investigating on them to make sure they have a good reputation and can get results.^[21]
- Ask the investigator for a few names of previous clients who you can contact for a reference. Y'all also tin can check for reviews of the investigator online.
- If the investigator has a license from the city or country where they operate, come across if yous can look upwardly their license number online. Cheque their license record for discipline or other negative marks.
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Sign a contract with your investigator. Before you give the investigator any coin to offset work, become the specific terms of your agreement in writing. You need to know how long they will search for the owner and how they volition report their findings to you.^[22]
- The contract should talk over all charges specifically, including any restrictions you've ready for the investigator. For example, you may want the investigator to call you before incurring any additional expenses above a sure dollar amount.
- The contract likewise should talk over what type of report you will receive at the end of the investigation, and whether the investigator will contact you lot to give you status updates over the grade of the investigation.
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Question

What should I practise if I'm trying to find the championship for a car?

Bryan Hamby is the owner of Auto Broker Club, a trusted car brokerage in Los Angeles, California. He founded Auto Broker Guild in 2014 out of a passion for cars and a unique talent for customizing the motorcar dealership process to be on the heir-apparent's side. With 1,400+ deals closed, and a xc% customer retention charge per unit, Bryan's focus is to simplify the car buying experience through transparency, fair pricing, and earth class customer service.

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Skillful Answer

Contact the DMV in your area. You'll need to fill up out a title asking form and pay a fee, and they'll let yous know about whatsoever additional documentation you may need.
Question

Tin you get personal information from a VIN number?

This respond was written by one of our trained squad of researchers who validated information technology for accuracy and comprehensiveness.

wikiHow Staff Editor

Staff Answer

No, you cannot get whatsoever personal data of the car's owner just from a VIN number.
Question

How can I detect the owner of a car with simply the license plate number?

Y'all tin can utilise the state DMV and submit a formal asking, or employ sites like recordsfinder.com/plate for a fee.
Question

How do I notice the registered owner of a vehicle in British Columbia?

Contact a Service Canada office in the province that issued the license plate.
Question

How do I observe out how many cars are registered in my name?

Contact your state or province's department of motor vehicles. Typically you can get your own information for free, although yous may have to pay a small fee to cover the toll of copying and mailing the study.
Question

How do I find the owner of an abandoned car on my property with expired tags?

Look for the motorcar's VIN (y'all should exist able to encounter it through the nuance, just higher up the hood of the car). With the VIN and the plate number, you should be able to locate the registered owner. Contact local police if you lot want to take the car removed from your belongings.
Question

How to find out how many cars are registered to a person?

In most states, a subpoena is required. Prior to the 1990s y'all could simply ask the registry. First form citizens such as virtually federal and state government workers can still admission this data without the demand to obtain courtroom blessing.
Question

How practice I find a person using their license plate?

Through your insurance company. Opening a claim volition help start the process; provide them with equally much information, descriptions, and details. They will not say who information technology is, but they can find out. If you lot're plant non at fault, your costs will be waived for repairs on a hit and run.
Question

Can I find out the twelvemonth and model of a vehicle from the license plate number?

Aye, get to findbyplate.com and search the plate number. Information technology will provide you lot with a brand, model, twelvemonth and possibly other information about the car also
Question

How do I go the address of a vehicle's possessor past the plate number for free?

Go to the police. If y'all take a legitimate reason for doing this, the police volition help y'all.

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Article Summary 10

The all-time way to find a vehicle's registered possessor using a license plate number is by contacting constabulary enforcement or your insurance company. If y'all were the victim of a hit-and-run, the police tin help you identify the person, and insurance companies also take ways of obtaining the owner's proper name. Otherwise, only the authorities can access that individual information. Bank check online to see if your reason for requesting the proper name is applicable, then fill out the DMV's asking form to offset the process. For information almost using a private investigator, read on!

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