Florida license plate lookup

What a Florida tag lookup gives you

The free lookup matches a Florida 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. We get plate matches from a commercial vehicle-data provider.

The owner’s name and address aren’t included. Florida releases personal information from motor vehicle records only under section 119.0712(2) of the Florida Statutes and the federal Driver’s Privacy Protection Act (18 U.S.C. § 2721), for the uses those laws allow.

Who issues plates and titles in Florida

The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV) is the title and registration agency, and title transfers are done at local motor vehicle service centers. The buyer has 30 calendar days to submit the title application there before a late transfer penalty applies. Under § 316.605, a car displays its plate on the rear, and a second plate, where two are assigned, on the front.

FLHSMV puts it plainly: in a sale, license plates stay with the seller, not the vehicle. The seller removes the plate and may transfer it to another vehicle. Since July 2009, Florida law has required every seller to file a Notice of Sale. A car with an unpaid lien can’t be legally sold in a private sale until the lien is satisfied, and if the car wasn’t titled in Florida before, a Vehicle Identification Number and Odometer Verification must be signed by an FLHSMV examiner, a licensed dealer, a notary or a police officer.

Requesting a Florida vehicle or title record

FLHSMV takes record requests by mail on Form HSMV 90510, the Motor Vehicle, Vessel and Mobile Home Records Request, sent to the Division of Motorist Services in Tallahassee. The form lists a current registration at $0.50, a title history printout of the owners at $1.00, a complete title history of scanned images at an initial $25.00, and $3.00 more to certify a record. Fees are paid with the request, and FLHSMV asks you to allow two weeks.

To receive personal information you must write in an exemption number from the DPPA list on the back of the form and sign, under penalty of perjury, that you’re entitled to it and won’t redisclose it. Before you buy, FLHSMV suggests its online Motor Vehicle Information Check to verify the odometer reading and, for an electronic title, who owns the car.

Florida title brands: salvage, rebuilt and flood

Under § 319.30, a car is a total loss, and gets a salvage title, when an insurer pays to replace it or pays out on a theft, or, if uninsured, when repairs would cost 80% or more of replacing it. A salvage car repaired and inspected becomes rebuilt. A flood vehicle is a total loss caused by water damage, and a nonconforming vehicle is a manufacturer lemon-law buyback (§ 319.14).

Any brand on a title, including one from another state’s title, is noted on the registration and carried forward on every later Florida title for the life of the vehicle. Our Florida VIN check guide covers the rebuilt inspection and hurricane flood cars, and flood damage check lists what to look at in person.

Before you buy a car with Florida tags

• Check that the VIN on the car, any VIN etched on the windows and the VIN on the title all match the one our lookup returned, as FLHSMV advises.
• Compare the seller’s driver license with the name on the title, and look for tampering on a paper title.
• Make sure any lien is satisfied before you pay; a car with a lien can’t be sold privately.
• Run a history report for total losses, auction sales and odometer readings, since there’s no Lemon Law for used cars in Florida. See salvage title check and odometer rollback check.
• Confirm the trim and engine with our VIN decoder and compare reports on pricing.

A CARFAX report on a Florida car is $8.99 with us.