Connecticut license plate lookup

What a Connecticut plate lookup shows

Our free lookup turns a Connecticut plate into a VIN and decodes it: year, make, model, engine and open safety recalls. You can then order a history report on the VIN. Plate results come from a commercial vehicle-data provider.

Owner names and addresses aren’t part of it. They’re protected by the federal Driver’s Privacy Protection Act (18 U.S.C. § 2721), and only the state releases them, for the permissible uses the act lists.

Who issues plates and titles in Connecticut

The Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles issues plates, registrations and titles. When you sell, the DMV tells you to remove your plates and cancel your registration, sign the back of the title over to the buyer and give a bill of sale (Form H-31 or your own). The buyer then registers the car and applies for a new title.

Under General Statutes § 14-18, a car issued two plates must display them at the front and the rear; a vehicle issued one plate shows it at the rear. Connecticut also doesn’t require a title for vehicles more than 20 model years old. Those are registered with the last owner’s registration and a bill of sale, so an older car may change hands with no title, and no title brand, to read.

Requesting a Connecticut title or registration record

Title records are requested by mail on Form J-23T, with a VIN for each request: a title record showing owner and lien information, a canceled title, a title application, a title history as of a date, or a bill of sale where available. Registration records go on Form J-23. The forms list $20 per item, plus $20 to certify one, sent to DMV Copy Records in Wethersfield.

To get personal information about someone else, you enter one of the permitted-use codes listed under General Statutes § 14-10, such as a government agency, an insurer, or a court proceeding, and sign a declaration under penalty of false statement that you’ll use it only for that purpose. You also need identification, and private investigators must show their license.

Salvage titles in Connecticut

The DMV says that once an insurer declares a car a total loss, or a title is stamped salvage, it’s illegal to drive it anywhere in Connecticut and its registration is cancelled. A rebuilt salvage car must pass a DMV salvage inspection before it can be re-titled. Titles branded salvage parts only, salvage unrebuildable or salvage unrepairable can never be registered or re-titled.

For the inspection, the owner brings receipts for major parts (with the donor car’s VIN for used parts), the original insurance appraisal, a salvaged vehicle repair report (Form K-186) and photos of the damage and the repairs before painting. The inspection can be done at Wethersfield DMV or by a licensed dealer or repairer, who may charge only $88. Ask a seller for that packet. See salvage title check.

Before you buy a car with Connecticut plates

• Match the VIN from the plate lookup with the dashboard, the door label and the title, or the last registration on a car over 20 model years old.
• On an untitled older car, rely on a history report for brands, total losses and odometer readings, since there’s no title to check. See odometer rollback check.
• On a rebuilt salvage car, ask for the K-186 repair report, photos and parts receipts from the salvage inspection.
• Expect the seller to keep their plates; you register the car yourself.
• Confirm the engine and trim with the VIN decoder and compare reports on pricing.

A CARFAX report for a Connecticut car is $8.99 with us.