Maryland license plate lookup

What a Maryland plate search shows you

From the plate we look up the VIN, then decode it: model year, make, model, engine and any open safety recalls. The plate match comes from a commercial vehicle-data provider. If the car checks out, you can order a history report on that VIN from the same page.

What you won’t see is the owner. A name or address tied to a plate is personal information under the federal Driver’s Privacy Protection Act (18 U.S.C. § 2721). The state releases it, and only for the uses that law allows.

Who issues plates and titles in Maryland

Titles, registrations and plates come from the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA). A passenger car is issued two plates (§ 13-410), and where two are issued one goes on the front and one on the rear (§ 13-411). Motorcycles, trailers and some historic vehicles get a single plate.

When a used car changes hands, Maryland law generally calls for a state inspection certificate from an inspection station (§ 23-106). Transfers between spouses or between a parent and child, and sales to dealers, are among the exemptions.

Getting an MVA record on a Maryland car

Maryland’s public records law, General Provisions § 4-320, bars the MVA from knowingly disclosing a record that contains personal information, with listed exceptions. For an individual vehicle record, that means the written consent of the person it’s about, or a use on the statute’s list: government and court work, motor vehicle safety and theft matters, legal proceedings, insurers handling claims or rating, and a few others.

Anyone who receives the information may use it only for the purpose they gave, and a recipient who passes it on must keep a record of that for five years. Ask the MVA for its current request form and fee before you apply.

Maryland salvage notations: rebuilt salvage, Flood Damaged, X-Salvage

When an insurer takes a damaged car in a claim, the MVA issues a salvage certificate, an ownership document rather than a title, with a notation showing which statement the insurer made (§ 13-506). That statement then decides the title the car can get later (§ 13-507):

To get that title, the owner needs a certificate of inspection from a county police department or the State Police, plus the state safety inspection. A car titled elsewhere with a similar rebuilt salvage notation keeps a similar one in Maryland. When the owner keeps a totaled car, the insurer must tell the MVA, which records the salvage status (§ 13-506.1).

Before you buy a car with Maryland plates

• Match the VIN from the plate lookup to the dashboard, the driver’s door label and the Maryland title.
• Read the face of the title for “rebuilt salvage”, “Flood Damaged” or “X-Salvage”.
• Ask whether the car has a current Maryland inspection certificate, and which station issued it.
• Run a history report for total losses and brands from other states, and for the odometer trail. See salvage title check and odometer rollback check.
• Use the VIN decoder to confirm the trim and engine the seller describes.

A CARFAX report on a Maryland VIN is $8.99 with us; other reports are listed on pricing.