In the state of Utah, vehicle records are kept and maintained by the Division of Motor Vehicles. This department also manages license plate searches. The amount of license plate information and vehicle information available is limited by the agency. Utah law prevents information from being released to people unless they meet a predefined set of circumstances.
The following circumstances would allow you to find registered owner of a vehicle through a request at the DMV:
- You are the current owner of the vehicle
- You are the legal representative or attorney of the vehicle’s owner
- You are a law enforcement official
- You are an employee of a company that has been authorized to access the records
Unfortunately, most people don’t fit this description. You wouldn’t need to do a reverse license plate owner lookup to find out who owns a vehicle if you’re the owner of a vehicle. If you request a record based on a license plate, you’ll need to have permission from the record holder for access to the information. You’ll also need to pay a fee of $3.
You’ll find it’s much easier to use an online party to do your search.
Looking up a Plate Online
Third party databases have access to public and private records, but they aren’t bound by the same rules and regulations as the government. Because they’re operated by outside third parties, you may be able to access information that you couldn’t through the DMV.
The amount of information available from database to database varies widely depending on their specialized areas of interest and the number of documents they have. You should be sure that the database you choose contains the relevant information.
Because Utah license plates are so strictly protected, you can’t be guaranteed to perform a successful license plate owner lookup. Because of this, you should try a free website before you sign up for one that will require payment for its services. If the free site fails you, you can check other channels. This website will let you do a license plate lookup for free.
What Information Should I Look For?
If you need to look up the owner of a vehicle for any reason, you should seek the following information:
- The full name of the vehicle’s registered owner
- The phone number, email address, or other contact information of the owner
- The vehicle’s VIN number
- Information about the vehicle’s accident history and whether it has ever been stolen
If you witness a vehicle involved in an accident, you should report the collision to your local authorities before doing anything else.
