Hawaii license plate lookup

What our Hawaii plate lookup shows

The free lookup links a Hawaii plate to a vehicle and its VIN, then decodes that VIN into the year, make, model and engine, and lists any open safety recalls. You can then order a history report on the VIN. Plate results come from a commercial vehicle-data provider.

It doesn’t return the owner’s name or address. That information is covered by the federal Driver’s Privacy Protection Act (18 U.S.C. § 2721), and only the government office that holds the record can release it, for the permissible uses the law sets out.

Who issues plates and titles in Hawaii

Registration and titles are handled county by county. On Oʻahu that is the City and County of Honolulu’s Department of Customer Services, through its satellite city halls. On the other islands, the county government runs its own vehicle registration office.

State law has the county issue two plates, and the owner fastens one on the front and one on the rear. In an Oʻahu sale, the buyer has 30 days from the seller’s transfer date on the title to transfer title and registration, and late transfers carry a penalty. The seller must send a Notice of Transfer to the county where the car was last registered within 10 days. Transfers aren’t express-window jobs on Oʻahu: you book an appointment through AlohaQ.

Getting a vehicle or owner record in Hawaii

Because each county keeps its own registration records, a request goes to the county office where the car is registered. Anyone asking for an owner’s name and address has to show one of the permissible uses the DPPA lists, such as a court case, an insurer’s claim or a tow notice. Ask the county’s motor vehicle office which form it uses before you send anything.

Salvage and rebuilt vehicles on Oʻahu

Once an insurer declares a car a total loss, or an owner sells it as salvage, it can’t get a standard Hawaii title or registration. Honolulu sets out the way back:

1. The car is repaired by a certified Salvage Repair Dealer. The state’s Motor Vehicle Repair Industry Board keeps the list.
2. The repair shop issues a certificate of repair.
3. The car goes, by appointment, to the city’s Motor Vehicle Control branch for a VIN and safety inspection.
4. That branch issues a certificate that lets the car be titled and registered as a rebuilt vehicle at a satellite city hall.

Ask any seller of a rebuilt car for the repair dealer’s certificate and the inspection paperwork. Our salvage title check and flood damage check guides explain what else to look for, which matters for cars shipped in from the mainland with a history elsewhere.

Before you buy a car with Hawaii plates

• Check that the VIN from the lookup matches the dashboard plate, the driver’s door label and the title.
• Look for both plates. A missing front plate can simply be lost, but ask.
• Agree with the seller who books the transfer appointment, so you stay inside the 30 days.
• Run a history report for title brands from any state, total losses and odometer readings. See odometer rollback check.
• Decode the VIN with the VIN decoder and see report options on pricing.

An AutoCheck report on the VIN is $7.99 with us.