Delaware license plate lookup

What a Delaware tag lookup gives you

Our free lookup matches a Delaware plate to a VIN and decodes it: year, make, model, engine and open safety recalls. You can then buy a history report on that VIN. The plate match comes from a commercial vehicle-data provider.

You won’t get the owner’s name or address. The federal Driver’s Privacy Protection Act (18 U.S.C. § 2721) protects that information, and the state releases it only with the person’s consent or under the exceptions the law allows.

Who issues plates and titles in Delaware

The Delaware Division of Motor Vehicles issues tags, registrations and titles. Under title 21, § 2126 of the Delaware Code, the plate is attached to the rear of the car; there’s no front plate for a regular passenger vehicle.

Delaware tag numbers can be kept. An owner can put a plate into retention at any DMV location before selling, then move it to another vehicle, hold it or give it to someone else. The DMV warns that an owner who sells with the plate still attached and hasn’t retained it loses it. So ask the seller what they plan to do with the tag before you agree on a handover.

The DMV inspects vehicles itself. Section 2143 requires the Department to inspect a car and find it safe before registering it, though it may waive this for vehicles no older than 7 model years. Temporary tags cost $20 and are sold only at DMV locations or by licensed Delaware dealers for cars they sell, and a car must pass a Delaware inspection to get one.

Getting a Delaware vehicle record

To get vehicle records by mail, the DMV asks you to complete its Personal Information Release Form, have it notarized (or submit it in person at a DMV office), pay the fee and mail it to the DMV Correspondence Section in Dover. See the DMV’s records page.

The DMV treats names, addresses and phone numbers as protected personal information. It releases them only with the approval of the person the record is about, or under the exceptions listed on the back of the release form, and never for marketing.

Title brands on a Delaware title

The DMV’s tips for used-car buyers tell you to read every block on the front of the title. If you see flood, salvage, rebuilt, reconstructed or restored salvage, the car may have been rebuilt, recovered after theft with damage, flooded or badly damaged and repaired, and the DMV advises a thorough inspection at a repair and body shop first. Specially constructed or homemade means it was built from scratch.

Check the odometer section too. A brand reading not the actual mileage, warning or odometer discrepancy means the mileage is unknown. Brands from other states may be number or letter codes, so look them up. See salvage title check and odometer rollback check.

Checks before buying a car with Delaware tags

• Verify that the VIN on the title, the VIN at the base of the windshield on the driver’s side and the VIN from our plate lookup all match.
• Insist on a properly signed title at delivery; the DMV says not to accept a bill of sale or registration instead.
• Look for a lienholder on the front of the title and get the notarized lien release.
• Run a history report for brands and total losses from other states and for past odometer readings.
• Use the VIN decoder to confirm the trim and engine, and compare reports on pricing.

An AutoCheck report on a Delaware car is $7.99 with us.