PA License Plate Lookup

How To Lookup a Pennsylvania License Plate

Anyone can use an online search tool to look up a Pennsylvania license plate for free. Quickly you can see the vehicle's year, make, model, color, trim level, and sometimes other details. However, using a free service, you will not be able to see any driver details like name, address, phone number, photographs, and more. Strict federal and state Driver's Privacy Protection Act (DPPA) laws prevent the general public from looking up someone's personal information through motor vehicle records. The state does have a form you can use to request records, but they only allow requests for a few purposes. When filling out the form, you must supply your name, company name, address, phone number, and your relationship to the individual.

PA License Plate Laws

From 1903 until1906, residents of Pennsylvania supplied their own license plates. Then the state began issuing them along with the vehicle registration. Drivers need only one license plate in Pennsylvania on the rear of their vehicle.

Pennsylvania law prohibits any obstruction of the license plate and warns:

"It is unlawful to display on any vehicle a registration plate which:

• is so dirty as to prevent the reading of the number or letters thereon at a reasonable distance [or];
• is obscured in any manner which inhibits the proper operation of an automated red light enforcement system in place pursuant to section 3116 (relating to automated red light enforcement system in first class cities); or
• is otherwise illegible at a reasonable distance or is obscured in any manner". If you violate this law, you will have to pay a $100 fine".

You must renew your vehicle registration every year or two years, depending on the option you chose when registering it initially. You can renew online or through the mail.

Pennsylvania License Plates

Pennsylvania offers residents its standard license plate, which consists of teal blue, white, and yellow. It also has the state website address on the bottom. Pennsylvania also offers other types of license plates to drivers. Some examples are:

• PennDOT's "Teen Driver" registration plate
• In God We Trust registration plate
• The Wild Resource Conservation Fund
• The Pennsylvania Zoological Council Fund
• The Preserve Our Heritage registration plate
• The Honoring Our Veterans
• Honoring Our Women Veterans
• Pennsylvania Monuments
• Pennsylvania Share the Road
• Pennsylvania Distracted Driving Awareness

The state also offers various military license plates for active and retired personnel, special organization plates and personalized plates where you get to choose the message. Any specialty or personalized plates will cost extra when you register your vehicle.

What is the Driver's Privacy Protection Act (DPPA) in Pennsylvania?

Pennsylvania observes the federal Driver's Privacy Protection Act (DPPA), but they also have restricted it even further for people who request motor vehicle records from the state. Pennsylvania has extremely strict privacy laws, and if you violate them, you could be looking at two years in prison, plus a $5,000 fine.

The Pennsylvania Right-to-Know Law (RTKL) intersects with the DPPA laws, and therefore, only certain information that falls under public records law will be offered to the public. This is what the state has to say about it: "Driver license information is available only pursuant to 75 Pa. C.S. § 6114 and 67 Pa. Code § 95.2(c). See also 65 P.S. § 67.708 (b)(6). It is also subject to the limitations of the federal Driver's Privacy Protection Act, 18 U.S.C. §2721-2725".

However, if an individual or entity falls into one of the allowable categories, they can request personal details of the driver like their name, address, phone number, social security number, driver's license number, etc. When requesting, they must prove they are eligible and provide documentation to substantiate their claim.

PA License Plate Lookup: Frequently Asked Questions