Georgia license plate lookup

What a Georgia plate lookup gives you

Our free tool matches a Georgia plate to a vehicle and its VIN, then decodes the VIN: model year, make, model, engine and any open safety recalls. If the car is worth a closer look, you can order a history report on that VIN. Plate results come from a commercial vehicle-data provider.

You won’t see who owns the car. Names and addresses in state vehicle records are protected by the federal Driver’s Privacy Protection Act (18 U.S.C. § 2721). The state releases them only for the permissible uses that law lists, so the lookup stops at the vehicle.

Who issues plates and titles in Georgia

Titles and registrations are run by the Motor Vehicle Division of the Georgia Department of Revenue, but you deal with your County Tag Office, in the county where you live. After a private sale, the department says to register within 7 business days of the purchase. If you buy from a dealer and the dealer doesn’t file for you, you have 30 days.

Dealers must issue a Temporary Operating Permit (TOP) for a newly bought car, and they can’t extend it or hand out a second one. If the dealer hasn’t got the title within five days of the TOP running out, the buyer can ask the County Tag Office for one 30-day TOP. Georgia law calls for the plate to be fastened to the rear of the vehicle.

Getting a Georgia vehicle record

Georgia handles requests for title, registration and lien data through Form MV-20, Request for Motor Vehicle Data. The department prefers that you file it through DRIVES e-Services, which avoids the delay of mailing paperwork. The form asks who you are, for example the owner, a lienholder, an attorney or an insurer, and which permissible use under the DPPA applies.

The department’s fee list shows $1 for a tag, title and lien printout, $5 for a title history, and $14 for a certified transcript of title. A buyer who just wants to know who owns a car isn’t covered, but an owner can request their own car’s title history.

Georgia title brands to know

Georgia counts parts, not only repair cost. A car is salvage if getting it running again would mean replacing two or more major component parts, or if an insurer paid a total loss claim and it hasn’t been repaired. A car titled in another state with a Total Loss, Salvage, Fire, Flood or Water brand is treated as salvage too.

A salvage car must pass a rebuilt inspection, after it is restored but before it is painted, before a rebuilt title can be issued. Our Georgia VIN check guide explains the inspection, the paperwork a seller should hand you, and lemon law buybacks.

Checks before you buy a car with Georgia plates

• Compare the VIN from the lookup with the VIN at the base of the windshield, on the driver’s door label and on the title.
• If you’re buying privately, plan for the County Tag Office within 7 business days, and make sure the title is ready to be signed over to you.
• On a rebuilt car, ask for the inspection papers, damage photos and parts receipts that went with the rebuilt title application.
• Run a history report for brands from other states, insurer total losses and mileage. See salvage title check and odometer rollback check.
• Decode the VIN with our VIN decoder to confirm engine and trim, and compare report options on pricing.

A CARFAX report on a Georgia car costs $8.99 with us.