New Jersey license plate lookup

What a New Jersey plate lookup shows

Type the plate, keep New Jersey selected, and we return the VIN registered to it with the year, make, model and engine decoded from that VIN, plus any open safety recalls. Plate results come from a commercial vehicle-data provider, not from the Motor Vehicle Commission. From there you can order history reports on the same VIN.

You won’t see a name or an address. Owner details in state motor vehicle records are protected by the federal Driver’s Privacy Protection Act (18 U.S.C. § 2721), and only the state can release them, for the uses that law allows.

Who issues plates and titles in New Jersey

Plates, registrations and titles come from the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC). A registered car gets two plates, one for the front and one for the rear; motorcycles, trailers and a few other vehicle types get one. Plates must be clean and visible, and a cover or holder that hides any lettering can bring a fine of up to $100.

Plates belong to the registration, not the car. An owner can move them to a new vehicle registered in the same name and of the same class, and someone who sells a car without transferring the plates must surrender them. So a used car normally changes hands without its plates, and a plate you saw on a listing photo may already be on another vehicle.

Getting a vehicle record from the MVC

The MVC says it won’t disclose personal information without the person’s consent and a proper written request. Title records are requested on Form DO-22, Title/Lien Search Request, by mail to Business & Government Services in Trenton, at $15 per search, with a turnaround of about 3 to 4 weeks. You must tick a permitted use under N.J.S.A. 39:2-3.4(c) and explain why you need the record; a title search on someone else’s car also needs supporting documents. Registration records use Form DO-11A, and Form DO-21A gives notarized authority for a second-party request.

New Jersey title brands to watch for

Every salvage vehicle has to be titled in New Jersey, and the salvage title usually has the word “salvage” across it. A salvage car can’t be registered for the road. After repairs and an MVC salvage inspection, the regulations describe what it gets as a certificate of ownership with a salvage designation, so a rebuilt New Jersey car should still show its past. Our New Jersey VIN check guide walks through the inspection and the flood history behind it.

Checks before you buy a car with New Jersey plates

• Match the VIN on the dashboard and the driver’s door label with the title and with the VIN our lookup returns.
• Look at the face of the title for the word “salvage” or a salvage designation.
• Run a salvage title check for total losses and brands from other states, then an odometer rollback check against the mileage on the title.
• Ask the seller what happens to the plates. In New Jersey they come off the car, so plan how you’ll register it before you drive it away.

With us, a CARFAX report is $8.99 and an AutoCheck report $7.99. See pricing for packs.