Utah license plate lookup

What you learn from a Utah plate

Select Utah, enter the plate number, and a commercial vehicle-data provider gives us the matching VIN. We decode it to show the model year, make, model and engine, run it against open safety recalls, and link to history reports for that VIN.

No owner name or address appears. Personal details in state vehicle records are restricted by the Driver’s Privacy Protection Act (18 U.S.C. § 2721), and Utah treats its title and registration files as protected records in their own right.

Who issues plates and titles in Utah

Titles, registrations and plates are handled by the Utah Division of Motor Vehicles, which state law defines as the Motor Vehicle Division of the Utah State Tax Commission (Utah Code § 41-1a-102).

When a car is sold, § 41-1a-701 has the owner remove the plates unless they are part of the deal. A seller who keeps them sends them to the Division within 20 days, and they can be assigned to another vehicle under its rules. If the plates do go with the car, the new owner has to apply to have them assigned in their name.

Getting Utah vehicle records

Under § 41-1a-116, all Division title and registration records are protected. Access is allowed for the purposes listed in the federal DPPA, and the Division may also release records to licensed private investigators, holders of a bona fide security interest in the vehicle and certain mobile home park owners. Each must first sign an acknowledgment that they won’t resell or disclose the information except as federal law allows, or use it for advertising or solicitation. Collecting a debt doesn’t count as a legitimate business need. Ask the Division for its current request form and fee.

Utah salvage certificates and branded titles

Utah defines a salvage vehicle in § 41-1a-1001 as one damaged by collision, flood or another event so badly that repairing it for safe operation would cost more than its fair market value, or one declared salvage by an insurer or another state. A nonrepairable vehicle is worth only parts or scrap, has been stripped or burned out, or has been designated for destruction. Selling a salvage vehicle without first getting a salvage certificate is a class B misdemeanor.

When the Division can tell, it brands the title with one of three phrases set out in § 41-1a-1004:

• Rebuilt and restored to operation
• In a flood and restored to operation
• Not restored to operation

The same section requires a seller to give you written notice before selling a car they know has a salvage certificate or branded title, or that an insurer declared a total loss. Ads must say so too, using the words “insurer declared total loss” for a total-loss car. The notice isn’t required when the buyer or seller is a licensed salvage-focused dealer or auction, or when an insurer sells the car after settling a total loss.

What to check before buying a car with Utah plates

• Compare the VIN on the dashboard and door jamb with the title and our lookup, and decode it with the VIN decoder.
• Ask a private seller directly whether the car was ever totaled; Utah law makes them tell you in writing if they know.
• Look for the three brand phrases on the title, then run a salvage title check for losses recorded in other states.
• On a car branded for flood, have a mechanic check the wiring and look for corrosion; our flood damage check lists the signs.
• Check the mileage history with an odometer rollback check.

An AutoCheck report on a Utah car costs $7.99 with us.