Tennessee license plate lookup

What you see after a Tennessee search

Choose Tennessee, enter the plate, and a commercial vehicle-data provider tells us which VIN it belongs to. We decode that VIN into the model year, make, model and engine, check it for open recalls, and offer history reports on the same car.

The owner’s name and address aren’t part of it. Federal law, the Driver’s Privacy Protection Act (18 U.S.C. § 2721), limits how states release personal details from vehicle records, and Tennessee pairs it with its own Uniform Motor Vehicle Records Disclosure Act.

Who issues plates and titles in Tennessee

The Vehicle Services Division of the Tennessee Department of Revenue runs titling and registration, and you complete them at your county clerk’s office. Salvage and rebuilt cases are the exception: those go by mail to the Department in Nashville.

Tennessee plates follow the owner, not the vehicle. The seller can move a plate to another car for a $1 fee at the county clerk, so the plate you look up today may be on a different car later, and a used car usually changes hands without it.

Requesting a vehicle record from the state

The Department sends motor vehicle requests to its Vehicle Information Request, Form RV-F1313801, mailed to the Vehicle Services Division at 500 Deaderick Street, Nashville. Every section must be filled in or the request is rejected. You describe the proposed use and tick the box for the law that entitles you to it, such as business verification, a court case, an insurer’s claim work, a licensed private investigator, or the written consent of the person on the record.

Salvage and rebuilt brands in Tennessee

When an insurer declares a car a total loss, its title and registration are void. An owner of a car under 10 years old can apply for a Salvage Certificate, which keeps it off Tennessee roads, and a car fit only for parts gets a Non-repairable Certificate, which means it can’t be titled or registered in Tennessee again.

To rebuild, the owner mails the salvage certificate, the identification application, color photos of all four corners of the wrecked car, receipts for every replaced part and a $75 fee. Receipts for used parts must name the buyer and seller and give the year, make and VIN of the donor car. After an inspection, the Anti-Theft Unit sends an approval letter, and the new title carries the brand “Rebuilt Vehicle Anti-Theft Inspected.” Our Tennessee VIN check guide explains the dealer disclosure rule and flood history.

Tennessee used-car checks

• Check that the VIN on the dash and the door label matches the title and our lookup; the VIN decoder shows the specs it should have.
• Read the front of the title for the rebuilt brand, and ask a seller of a rebuilt car for the parts receipts sent to the Department.
• The anti-theft review checks where parts came from. It isn’t a mechanical check, so have the repairs looked at.
• Run a salvage title check for total losses reported in other states, and an odometer rollback check for the mileage.

With us, a CARFAX report is $8.99 and an AutoCheck report $7.99.