Do you know your personal car good enough? One way to find out if you do is to get your car’s VIN. But what is the vehicle’s VIN?
The car’s VIN is an abbreviation that stands for the VIN number,” which is the main identification code for EVERY vehicle. The VIN number is made up of up to 17 characters, which include digits and sometimes capital letters.
These characters will serve the purpose of a unique identifier for every car that’s found in that state. However, before you find the VIN number, you must understand how to do it. In this post, I show you how to get the VIN number from the license plate.
How to Get VIN Number from License Plate
One of the many ways that you can use to get your VIN number is by the use of the license plate. I will show you how to do it. But before that, let us find out what a license plate is.
A license plate number is a number that is attached to your motor vehicles and trailers. They are basically state-issued identification or car registration numbers.
A license plate can be stamped on a metal or even a plastic registration type of plate. They are readily identifiable since they come clearly set at the front and again at the end of any car. But to get the authentic one, you must run a state-authorized report.
With that said, here is a smart guide on how to get the VIN number of your car through a license plate.
Step I: Locate a Department of Motor Vehicles Office
The step to running a successful search for your VIN number is to identify a local DMV office and submitting the required type of request. This department will perform a registration search and give you an authentic report on an up to date plate registration number.
Remember that the main policies that govern the submission of a record’s requisition will vary from one state’s laws to the other. So if you continuously keep checking with the DMV in the state helps you to find out if there is a revision that is required.
To find the local DMV office that’s close, you can always run an online search through the onlinedmv.com and then select your state in the main “Search DMV by the State” button, which is located at the very top side of the main page.
You can again click on the state of your choice in the middle column. This will show you the closest DMV office, which you can then call or write to for the inquisition of the retrieval of any type of record that is related to the motorcar in question. The DMV should advise you accordingly once they receive your call.
Step II: Know the DPPA Regulations
The DPPA is what protects your privacy and also that of other people. It prohibits the release and possibly illegal use of your drivers’ personal information, which can be found from the state’s motor car records.
These DPPA restrictions are vast and will include the identities of those who can run a license plate number or those who can retrieve information when it comes to how to get vin number from a license plate.
In line with that, the people who are allowed by the state to run the license plate numbers of vehicles are:
- Licensed private investigators
- Employers
- Law enforcement
- Those authorized by the vehicle owner to do so
- The vehicle owners themselves
Step III: Obtain Signed Release
The owner of the vehicle should accompany you to the DMV’s offices if you want to carry out a license plate search. However, if the vehicle owner is quite unable to do that, you can always request them for a signed release.
A signed release will include the vehicle owner’s name, their driver’s license number, and license plate number of the vehicle in question. There should also be an inclusion of an explicit approval that they have allowed you to get the records from the DMV offices.
NOTE: Most DMV offices will require you to have a signed release. This allows them to give you the recent license plate number and the vehicle identification number (VIN) at the same time.
Why Is the Vehicle Identification Number Vital?
The VIN will display your car’s unique features. These features can be used to identify your car from other cars and will include the following:
- Car chassis number
- Car model
- Car engine number
- Car manufacturer
- Car year of manufacture
NOTE: The VIN number will again have several additional specifics that are considered to be so crucial in the identification of your car.
FAQs:
Before we hit the final part, let me also give you a few concerns that other vehicle owners have raised about the vehicle identification number.
What Can I Do to Carry Out a Search if I am Not the Vehicle Owner?
You can ask the vehicle owner to accompany you to the DMV offices when you want to place your request for the license plate report and subsequent report on the VIN number.
Which Type of Plate Should You Use for Your VIN?
You should use an up to date plate record for your vehicle to get your VIN number.
Where Can I Get the Latest Plate Record for My Vehicle?
The best place that you can use to obtain your vehicle’s up-do-date license plate record is the Department of Motor Vehicles office. This plate record can be used for the purpose of getting your VIN number.
Conclusion
When looking for the best way on how to get a VIN number from a license plate, you must understand that you get the report from the Department of Motor Vehicles. This report is very important and, again, is considered to be a major prerequisite by several states.
What this means is that the person who can run such a search is also restricted by the Driver’s Privacy Protection Act. So, finding a person that’s permitted to carry out such an act will be very important if you want to get the identification number of your vehicle.
Follow the due process diligently to get your VIN number without at any time being found in contempt of the laws. This is an easy way to have your VIN number quickly.