Wheel ScoutWhat a Georgia plate lookup shows
A license plate points to one car. We turn the Georgia plate into the car's 17-character VIN, show you the year, make and model, then read its history: salvage, flood and rebuilt brands, title history by state, odometer readings and theft records. You also see the factory specs and the safety recalls for that model year before you pay. What it never shows is the owner: the federal Driver's Privacy Protection Act keeps names and addresses in DMV records private, and we don't sell them.
What a Georgia plate looks like, and the 2026 plate
Georgia drivers pick from standard designs when they title and register a car. The Georgia Department of Revenue lists the Peach Plate and the Peach Orchard Plate, and since January 1, 2026 a third one: the USA Semiquincentennial, or America 250, plate. Its design came out of a statewide civics project for Georgia middle school students, the winning entry was by student Eden Pethel, and its red stars mark Georgia Revolutionary War sites from north to south. It stays available through 2030. Getting it at renewal costs nothing beyond the standard $20; swapping outside your renewal window costs $20. So in 2026 you'll see three standard looks on Georgia cars, all of them real.
Georgia registrations are renewed every year. Type the plate without spaces or dashes; we find the car.
In a sale between two people the plate does not go to the buyer. Georgia lets an owner move a valid plate from a car they no longer own to another car they buy, through the County Tag Office. The seller's job is to sign the title over and cancel the car's registration, online through DRIVES e-Services or with Form MV-18J at the County Tag Office. The Department's warning to sellers: cancel the registration before you cancel the insurance, or the state's insurance fines follow you ($25 for a lapse, $60 to reinstate, $160 once it's more than two offenses in five years).
Temporary Operating Permits (TOPs) come from dealers. Dealers must issue one with a car they sold, the buyer has 30 days to get a plate, and a dealer cannot issue a TOP for a car it did not sell. If the dealer hasn't produced the title within five days of the TOP running out, the buyer can get one 30-day TOP from the County Tag Office with Form T-226. Buying from an individual, you title and register the car yourself within 7 days.
Georgia title brands: what the lookup can show
Our $5 report reads the NMVTIS record, the national title database every state reports into, so a salvage, rebuilt or flood brand from Georgia or from any other state shows up next to the odometer history and theft check. Here is how Georgia defines the brands.
| Salvage | Georgia calls a car salvage when making it run again would mean replacing two or more component parts, or when an insurer has paid a total loss claim and the car hasn't been repaired, no matter how little the damage. A car titled in another state and branded Total Loss, Salvage, Fire, Flood or Water is also salvage in Georgia. Salvage vehicles cannot legally be driven on public roads. When an owner keeps a totaled car, the insurer applies for the salvage title in the owner's name ($18 title fee) and includes Form T-56, the Notice to Owner of payment of a total loss claim. |
|---|---|
| Rebuilt | A salvage car that was repaired and passed inspection. Anyone who buys a salvage or wrecked car to rebuild it must be licensed as a rebuilder. The inspection happens after the repair and before painting, by a state inspector or an approved private one. With an approved private inspector you send the Department the $18 title fee; with a state inspector it is $118 for inspection and title, and the car must be towed, not driven, to the site. The packet includes Form MV-1, the original salvage title, Form T-129, photos and parts receipts listing part names and stock numbers. Used parts need the donor car's VIN and proof of its title. |
| Flood, Water, Fire, Total Loss | Brands other states use. Georgia treats a car arriving with any of them as salvage, so it has to go through the rebuilt inspection before it can be titled for the road here. |
Two more checks the Department offers for a small fee: a title history or letter of verification is $5, and a salvage letter or certified transcript of title is $14. You can also check a car's status with Lookup Vehicle Status on DRIVES e-Services. Do one of them, or run the report here, before any money changes hands.
What a Georgia title transfer costs
Georgia doesn't charge sales tax on a car bought from an individual. It charges the Title Ad Valorem Tax (TAVT), a one-time tax paid when the car is titled. TAVT took effect March 1, 2013 and replaced both sales tax and the yearly ad valorem tax for most cars bought since then. Everything below is paid at the County Tag Office in the county where you live.
| TAVT | 7.0% of the car's fair market value. For a used car that value is the one in the state's motor vehicle assessment manual, generally the average of current wholesale and retail values, not the price on your bill of sale. In a sale between individuals there is no trade-in reduction. Use the Department's TAVT Estimator before you agree on a price, because a good deal on price doesn't lower the tax. |
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| Title fee | $18. |
| License plate | $20 for a regular passenger car or light pickup, renewed every year. |
| Family transfers | If the car already has a Georgia title and TAVT was paid on it, a family member pays a reduced 0.5% of fair market value, using Form MV-16. A car still on the old annual ad valorem system can stay on it or move to full TAVT. |
| New residents | Pay TAVT at 3%, not 7%. |
| Late penalties | Title application more than 30 days late: $10. TAVT on a sale between individuals paid late: 10% after day 30, plus 1% more each month. A changed or altered purchase date on the title: another $10. |
Georgia forms and deadlines
| Buyer's deadline | Title and register within 7 days of the purchase date. One Department page says 7 business days, but its casual sale and buyer pages say 7 days, so count calendar days and plan the County Tag Office trip before you hand over the money. |
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| The title | The seller fills in the assignment on the back in blue or black ink: your full legal name as it appears on your Georgia license, your address, the date, and the odometer reading in whole miles. Any alteration or erasure may void the title. Each seller and each buyer prints and signs. A seller who isn't a dealer must have the title in their own name before selling. |
| Never accept an open title | Under Georgia Code 40-3-91(c), handing over or accepting a title signed without the buyer's name filled in is a misdemeanor: a fine up to $100 or up to 30 days in jail, for each title. Never sign a blank one either. |
| Form MV-1 | Title/Tag Application, signed by the buyer. Bring it with your Georgia license, the signed title with any lien released, and proof of insurance (filed by your insurer in the state database, or an insurance binder). |
| Form T-7 | The Department's Bill of Sale form. A bill of sale is required for a car 1985 or older that doesn't need a title, and worth having on any sale. Keep a copy, along with a copy of the signed title. |
| Form T-22B | Certification of Inspection, required with a bill of sale or a registration from a non-title state when the car has never been registered in Georgia. |
| Older cars | Georgia titles are not required for 1962 and older model years. For 1963 to 1985 models a title is optional, and a bill of sale showing the chain of ownership can be used instead. |
| Odometer | When disclosure is required, the reading has to go up through each owner in the chain. "Exempt" is only for cars the federal Truth in Mileage Act exempts. |
Inspections in Georgia
Georgia doesn't require a safety inspection to title or register a personal car. What it has is an emissions test in 13 metro Atlanta counties: Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Henry, Paulding and Rockdale. Outside those counties there is no state test at all, so the buyer's own inspection is the only one the car gets.
- Which cars: gasoline cars and light trucks up to 8,500 pounds. For 2026 registrations that means model years 2002 through 2023. The three newest model years and cars 25 model years or older are exempt, as are diesels and motorcycles.
- How often: every year, before the registration date.
- Cost: up to $25, posted on the station's sign. If the car fails, one retest at the same station within 30 calendar days costs nothing more.
- Seniors: a car 10 model years or older, driven under 5,000 miles a year, whose primary owner is 65 or older can be exempt.
- At the sale: Georgia's Clean Air Force says sellers located in the 13 counties must make sure the car has a passing emissions test at the time of sale when it will be registered in one of those counties. The result is on file electronically at the tag office, so the seller doesn't have to hand you a paper copy. A car that hasn't passed can't be registered there.
Before you meet a Georgia seller
- Run the plate or the VIN here first, before the deposit. Then match the year, make, model and trim to the car in front of you.
- Run the TAVT Estimator on the car so you know the 7% tax before you agree on a price.
- Match the VIN on the dashboard, the driver door sticker and the title.
- Match the name on the title to the seller's ID. A non-dealer seller must have the title in their own name first. A title signed by someone else with your name left blank is illegal to accept.
- Check for a lien. A lender listed on the title must be released before the County Tag Office will transfer it.
- Ask whether the car has a passing emissions test if you live in one of the 13 counties.
- Have insurance ready and book the County Tag Office visit within the 7 days.
Where these Georgia facts come from
Read on the state's own pages on October 31, 2026. Fees and rules change; the county tax office has the final word on the day you file.
- Georgia DOR: Title and register a vehicle purchased in a casual sale
- Georgia DOR: Responsibilities of sellers and buyers
- Georgia DOR: TAVT and annual ad valorem tax
- Georgia DOR: TAVT frequently asked questions
- Georgia DOR: Motor vehicle fees, fines and penalties
- Georgia DOR: Salvage titles
- Georgia DOR: Titles for rebuilt or restored vehicles
- Georgia DOR: Standard license plate designs
- Georgia's Clean Air Force: before you test
- Georgia DOR: Transfer a vehicle titled in Georgia
- Georgia DOR: Title not required or optional titles
- Georgia DOR: When and where to register your vehicle
- Georgia DOR: Temporary operating permits
- Georgia DOR: Owner keeps a wrecked or salvage vehicle
- Georgia DOR: Cancellation and reinstatement of registration
- Georgia's Clean Air Force: Senior exemptions
Look up a plate from another state
The reports
Works for Georgia plates and every other state. You see the car before you pay.
Basic history report
By VIN or license plate · official NMVTIS record · shows right away
- Salvage, junk, flood and rebuilt title brands
- Title history by state, with dates
- Odometer readings and rollback flags
- Total-loss records from insurers
- Theft check
- Market value for the car
Full vehicle history report
By VIN or license plate · Not instant: emailed or texted to you within two hours
- Every owner, how they used it (personal, lease, rental or fleet) and where
- Accidents and damage reports
- Title brands: salvage, junk, rebuilt, flood, fire, hail, lemon
- Odometer readings over time, checked for rollbacks
- Service and maintenance history
- Open recalls and common owner complaints for the model
Georgia license plate lookup questions
How do I look up a Georgia license plate?
Type the plate above with Georgia selected. We turn it into the car's VIN and show the year, make and model at no charge, then the $5 report shows its title brands, odometer readings, total-loss records and theft check.
How much does it cost to transfer a car title in Georgia?
The title fee is $18 and a regular plate is $20. The big cost is the Title Ad Valorem Tax: 7% of the car's fair market value from the state's assessment manual. Title it within 7 days; after 30 days a $10 late title penalty and a 10% TAVT penalty apply.
Is TAVT based on what I paid?
No. For a used car bought from an individual, the Georgia Department of Revenue uses the value in the state motor vehicle assessment manual, generally the average of wholesale and retail values, and there is no trade-in reduction. A family member can pay a reduced 0.5% if TAVT was already paid on a Georgia title.
Does Georgia require a vehicle inspection?
There is no safety inspection to register. An annual emissions test is required for most gasoline cars and light trucks in 13 metro Atlanta counties, and a seller located there must make sure the car has a passing test at the time of sale when it will be registered in one of those counties.
Can a salvage car be driven in Georgia?
No. A salvage vehicle cannot legally be operated on public roads. It has to be repaired by a licensed rebuilder, inspected before painting, and retitled as rebuilt; with a state inspector the fee is $118 and the car must be towed to the inspection.
What is the new America 250 plate in Georgia?
Since January 1, 2026 Georgia drivers can choose the USA Semiquincentennial (America 250) plate alongside the Peach and Peach Orchard plates, at no extra charge at renewal. It will be issued through 2030.
Can I find the owner of a Georgia plate?
No. The federal Driver's Privacy Protection Act keeps owners' names and addresses in state motor vehicle records private, and no legitimate plate lookup shows them. You see the car, not the person.
Who runs vehicle titles in Georgia?
The Georgia Department of Revenue's Motor Vehicle Division issues titles and plates, and your County Tag Office handles the transfer and collects TAVT. The emissions program is run by the Environmental Protection Division through Georgia's Clean Air Force.
More ways to check a car
Find the deal, then check it.
Wheel Scout alerts you the moment an underpriced car posts on Marketplace, OfferUp or Craigslist near you, and runs the history right in the app.
The basic history report uses NMVTIS data from an approved NMVTIS data provider. NMVTIS records come from states, insurers and salvage yards; not every event is reported to it. Vehicle specs and recalls come from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Wheel Scout is not affiliated with any marketplace or government agency. Wheel Scout is not affiliated with the Georgia Department of Revenue, Motor Vehicle Division (MVD).