Wisconsin license plate lookup

What a Wisconsin plate search shows

Pick Wisconsin, enter the plate, and a commercial vehicle-data provider matches it to a VIN. We decode that VIN into model year, make, model and engine and check it for open safety recalls. History reports on the same VIN can be ordered from the result page.

Owner information isn’t included. Under the federal Driver’s Privacy Protection Act (18 U.S.C. § 2721), a state may release personal details from its vehicle records only for listed purposes, such as government and court use, insurers, vehicle recalls, towing notices, or with the person’s written consent.

Who issues plates and titles in Wisconsin

Titles, registrations and plates are issued by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT). A repaired salvage car also meets WisDOT’s Division of State Patrol: its employees, along with Wisconsin law enforcement officers, carry out the salvage inspections described below.

Getting a Wisconsin vehicle record

WisDOT keeps the title record, including the permanent notes described in the next section. If you need the owner or title history from the state rather than from a history report, you will have to show a DPPA permitted use or the owner’s written consent. Ask WisDOT for its current vehicle record request form and fee before you apply.

What a Wisconsin title records about damage

Before issuing a new or duplicate title, WisDOT must permanently record certain facts on it (Wis. Stat. § 342.10). Among them:

• that the vehicle was previously a salvage vehicle;
• that it was a flood damaged vehicle;
• that it was a hail-damaged vehicle, unless it was repaired with replacement parts.

A repaired salvage car can’t be registered or retitled until an inspector authorized by WisDOT has examined it (§ 342.07). The inspection checks that the car matches its salvage title, that the source and ownership of the major parts used are documented, and that the safety equipment complies; the fee is $80. Inspectors must be certified, and they are Wisconsin law enforcement officers or full-time employees of the Division of State Patrol (Trans 149.03).

The owner brings a title application (Form MV-1), the Wisconsin salvage title, a salvage affidavit of major parts, bills of sale for replaced major parts and four photos of the damage taken before repairs, and must clean the exterior, engine and transmission areas first (Trans 149.05). Major parts include the engine, transmission, doors, hood, fenders, frame or unibody, and any other part worth more than $500. A car that fails is issued or reissued a salvage title, and one marked “JUNKED” can’t be titled again (Trans 149.07).

Checks before buying a car with Wisconsin plates

• Read the VIN on the dash and the door label, and confirm it matches the title and our lookup; the VIN decoder shows the build it should have.
• Look on the title for the salvage, flood or hail notes, and ask a seller of a repaired salvage car for the parts affidavit and receipts.
• Wisconsin only records what it knows. A salvage title check covers total losses and brands from other states, and our flood damage check guide lists signs to look for in person.
• Compare mileage with earlier records using an odometer rollback check.

A CARFAX report on a Wisconsin car is $8.99 with us.