Virginia License Plate Lookup: VIN, Title Brands & Costs

What a Virginia plate lookup shows

A license plate points to one car. We turn the Virginia 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 Virginia plate looks like

Virginia offers a standard plate and a long list of special and personalized designs. Virginia law requires plates on both the front and the rear of a car or truck; only motorcycles, trailers and a few others run one plate. A Virginia car missing its front plate is out of compliance, and a seller who lost it owes you an explanation. Type the plate without spaces and we find the car.

Plates belong to the owner. The DMV tells sellers to remove the plates before the buyer takes the car and to deal with them right away: transfer them to a replacement vehicle (License Plate Application VSA 10, $2 registration transfer fee), or turn them in, online or at a customer service center or DMV Select. With six or more months left on the registration, a seller can get a partial refund by sending or bringing the plates in with Form FMS 210. A seller who cancels insurance while plates are still active risks having their license and registration suspended, so a careful seller deactivates or surrenders first.

That leaves the buyer with a car and no plates. Virginia's answer is the Prospective Purchaser's Trip Permit: $5, good for three consecutive days from the purchase date on the bill of sale, printed online before you go, valid only with the original bill of sale attached and the permit displayed in the window. If you don't buy the car within 15 days of printing it, you need a new one. A dealer sale instead comes with a 30-day temporary registration or plate transfer.

Virginia title brands: what the lookup can show

Our $5 report reads the NMVTIS record, the same national database Virginia's DMV tells buyers to check. Virginia's brands and documents:

Salvage	For a late-model car, repair costs above 75% of its actual cash value. An insurer that pays the claim applies for a salvage certificate on Form VSA 56 within 15 days; an owner of an uninsured late-model car over the threshold must apply too, and any owner may declare a car salvage voluntarily. The certificate is noted BRANDED IF REBUILT, and a car on a salvage certificate cannot be registered or driven. If the owner keeps the wrecked late-model car, the insurer files a Notification of Owner Retained Late Model Vehicle (VSA 58).
Rebuilt	A salvage car repaired for the road. Before it can be titled it must pass a DMV examination by a DMV Special Agent, checking that the car and its parts are roadworthy and not stolen. The rebuilder mails the salvage certificate, the Request for Examination of Rebuilt Salvage Vehicle (Form LES 022A), a $125 examination fee and a $15 substitute title fee to the Vehicle Branding Work Center in Richmond, then brings to the exam proof the car passed a Virginia safety inspection, receipts for the parts, a photo of the car before repair, and old parts bearing the VIN. The title comes back branded REBUILT, permanently, on every later title.
Nonrepairable	A car the owner or insurer declares fit only for parts (Form VSA 57, or by surrendering the title; no fee). It can never again be titled, registered or legally driven in Virginia, and the certificate can't be used to transfer ownership.
Junk Nonnegotiable	Issued for a car rebuilt, titled and registered in another state even though it carries a nonrepairable-type brand there (junk, for parts only and the like). It is marked Not for Resale and cannot be sold.

Water damage. The Virginia DMV's own Prospective Purchaser Inquiry lists water damage among the special notes it can report on a vehicle record. Our report covers the national record, including salvage and total-loss entries reported by insurers; the DMV's $12 PPI (by make, model and VIN, online, by mail on Form CRD-01 or at a customer service center) covers Virginia-only records, including the date the car was sold and the state where it was sold. Neither shows anything about prior owners.

What a Virginia title transfer costs

Buying from an individual, the buyer pays at a DMV customer service center or DMV Select, or by mail. Figures are from the DMV's fee chart (DMV 201) and its sales and use tax page.

Title fee	$15, per the DMV's fee chart and its title page. The Code of Virginia's title-fee section (§ 46.2-627) still reads $10, but $15 is what the DMV charges. A substitute title (needed if a lien was on the old one or a paper title was already printed) is also $15.
Motor vehicle sales and use tax	4.15% of the gross sales price, or $75, whichever is greater, collected when the car is titled. Gross price means the price after rebates; a trade-in does not reduce it. The price the seller writes on the title serves as the bill of sale. If the car is more than five model years old and the price is missing or wrong, a Vehicle Price Certification (SUT 1) or a handwritten bill of sale signed by both of you, with price, year, make, model, VIN and date, fills the gap. If the car is less than five model years old and the price is more than $1,500 off the NADA trade-in value, the DMV wants an Affidavit for Procurement of Title (SUT 1A).
Gifts	A gift to the giver's spouse, son, daughter or parent is exempt from the tax, documented on the Purchaser's Statement of Tax Exemption (SUT 3), with the word gift written in the price box on the title. Cars inherited by a spouse or heir are exempt too.
Registration	$30.75 a year for a passenger car of 4,000 lbs or less, $35.75 from 4,001 to 6,500 lbs. An electric car pays $135.63. Add $2 a year if the car is garaged in one of the Northern Virginia emissions localities, and local registration fees in localities that take part in the DMV's local program. Two- and three-year registrations get a small discount.
Highway use fee	Charged on cars rated 25 mpg combined or better, to make up for fuel tax they don't pay. It is 85% of the difference between the fuel tax a 23.7-mpg car would pay over 11,600 miles and what yours would, payable with registration or per mile through the Mileage Choice Program.
Other	Trip permit $5. Late registration fee $10. Plate reactivation $10. Prospective Purchaser Inquiry $12.

Virginia forms and deadlines

The title, Section A	Every owner listed signs as seller. The seller fills in your name and address, the odometer reading read off the car (the DMV says do not guess or estimate), the date of sale, and the price or the word gift. You sign and print your name as buyer in the same section.
The back of the title	You complete Section E (Personal Property Tax Relief), Section F if there is a lien, Section G (Application for Registration, with the insurance certification) if you're registering right away, and Section H (Certification of Buyer).
Form VSA 17A	Virginia Application Certificate for Title and Registration, used when the car comes in on an out-of-state title. Form VSA 14 is the registration application if you title first and register later.
Proof of address and price	Bring proof of your Virginia address and proof of the price (the title's price box, a bill of sale or a buyer's order).
Deadline	Virginia publishes no grace period of days. The DMV's buyer steps are: title the car, register it, carry the minimum insurance, and get a valid safety inspection sticker before you drive it; a trip permit covers the three days in between.
Seller's notice	The seller must tell the DMV about the sale, trade or donation, online, by phone or at a customer service center.
Local registration	Some cities and counties also require the car to be registered locally; the DMV tells buyers to check.

The DMV's buyer page sends you to NMVTIS before you commit. That is the record our $5 report reads.

Inspections in Virginia

Safety inspection, every 12 months, statewide. Virginia requires every registered vehicle to pass a safety inspection at an official station licensed by the Virginia State Police, within 12 months of the last one. The most a station may charge for a car is $20 ($12 for a motorcycle). The DMV says to have a valid sticker on the windshield before you drive the car, and a missing or expired sticker is a ticket, though police can't stop a car for an expired sticker until the fourth month after it ran out. For a buyer, the seller's sticker date tells you how long you have before the next one, and a car with a current sticker was checked by a licensed inspector inside the year.

Emissions inspection, Northern Virginia only. Cars garaged in Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun, Prince William and Stafford counties and the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Manassas and Manassas Park must pass an emissions test every two years. Exempt: gasoline cars more than 25 years old (they still pay the $2 fee), used cars of the current and three previous model years, new cars for four years, motorcycles, diesels built before 1997, and cars that run only on electricity or clean fuels. To register for a year, the car's emissions certificate needs more than three months left on it. A car coming in from another state with a passing test from the last 12 months can be titled and registered without a Virginia test. Results post to the DMV within about 24 hours, and a one-month extension to finish the test costs $10.

Before you meet a Virginia seller

Run the plate or VIN here first, before the deposit. Match the year, make, model and trim to the car.
Match the VIN on the dash, the door sticker and the title, and match the seller's ID to the name on the title.
Read the title for brands and liens. REBUILT is permanent; a lien needs a release before the DMV will transfer.
Print your $5 trip permit in the 15 days before the sale and bring the bill of sale to attach to it.
Check both stickers: the safety inspection sticker date, and the emissions certificate if the car lives in Northern Virginia.
Have the seller write the real price on the title. The DMV taxes 4.15% of it, and a lowball on a newer car triggers the SUT 1A affidavit.

Where these Virginia 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.

Look up a plate from another state

The reports

Works for Virginia 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

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$10

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

Get the full report

Virginia license plate lookup questions

How do I look up a Virginia license plate?

Type the plate above with Virginia 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 Virginia?

The title fee is $15, plus 4.15% motor vehicle sales and use tax on the price ($75 minimum), plus registration of $30.75 a year for a car of 4,000 lbs or less or $35.75 from 4,001 to 6,500 lbs, plus the highway use fee if the car is rated 25 mpg or better.

Is Virginia's car sales tax charged on the trade-in?

Yes. The 4.15% tax is on the gross sales price, and the DMV does not subtract a trade-in. The minimum tax is $75. Gifts to a spouse, son, daughter or parent are exempt with Form SUT 3.

Does Virginia require a vehicle inspection?

Yes. Every registered vehicle needs a safety inspection every 12 months at a State Police licensed station, $20 maximum for a car, and the DMV says to have a valid sticker before driving a car you just bought. Cars garaged in ten Northern Virginia localities also need an emissions test every two years.

How does a salvage car get a Virginia title again?

It must pass a DMV examination by a Special Agent: Form LES 022A, a $125 exam fee and a $15 title fee, with parts receipts, a pre-repair photo and proof of a Virginia safety inspection. The new title is branded REBUILT for good. A nonrepairable certificate, by contrast, can never be titled again.

How do I drive a car home in Virginia after buying it from a person?

Get a Prospective Purchaser's Trip Permit online before the sale: $5, valid three consecutive days from the purchase date, with the original bill of sale attached and the permit in the window. The seller keeps the plates.

Can I find the owner of a Virginia plate?

No. The federal Driver's Privacy Protection Act keeps owners' names and addresses in DMV records private, and no legitimate plate lookup shows them. Even the DMV's own $12 Prospective Purchaser Inquiry leaves out personal information about previous owners. You see the car, not the person.

Who runs vehicle titles in Virginia?

The Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles issues titles, registrations and plates and collects the sales and use tax, at its customer service centers and DMV Select offices. The Virginia State Police licenses the safety inspection stations, and the Department of Environmental Quality runs the Northern Virginia emissions program.

More ways to check a car

VIN check Cheap VIN check VIN decoder VIN scanner Recall check Vehicle history report Title check NMVTIS report Stolen car check License plate lookup California plate lookup Texas plate lookup Florida plate lookup Wisconsin plate lookup Plate lookup by state

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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 Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).

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