PA Tag Search: Pennsylvania License Plate Lookup

By Mohamed SkhiriUpdated November 10, 2026Checked against PennDOT's records FAQ and form DL-135

Why a plate number alone won't work

Most states will at least take a request that starts with a plate. Pennsylvania won't. PennDOT's public records FAQ says that to protect residents' privacy, it will not process a request based solely on a tag number; a legitimate request must also include the vehicle's title number or VIN. That one rule changes what a Pennsylvania license plate lookup can be. If all you have is a plate you saw on the road, PennDOT's answer is no, however you word it.

There's one exception, and it's built for the people who genuinely need it. If the tag number is the only vehicle information you have, the DL-135 accepts it when you complete the insurance section with the NAIC number, policy number and claim number, or attach a copy of the accident report or the parking ticket. In other words, a PA plate number lookup from the tag alone is possible after a crash or a ticket, and not otherwise.

Form DL-135: the official PA license plate search

The Request for Vehicle Information, form DL-135, is PennDOT's route for the public. What it takes:

• Vehicle details: the title number or VIN, or the tag number with the insurance or accident details above.
• Your reason: for someone else's record, a signed release from the owner or a notarized statement of your intended use. Requests for your own record don't need a notary.
• The fee: $15 per record, non-refundable, or $47 for a certified record. If PennDOT finds no record or the details are insufficient, the fee covers the search.
• Payment and address: a check or money order to the Commonwealth of PA, no cash, mailed to PennDOT's Vehicle Record Services in Harrisburg. A P.O. box can't be your only address.

PennDOT keeps vehicle records for 10 years, so that's as far back as any request reaches.

Who can see the owner behind a PA plate

The federal Driver's Privacy Protection Act sets the permitted uses, and PennDOT applies them through the release or notarized statement. The ones individuals most often have: a crash or vehicle theft, an insurance claim, a court case or service of papers, and a towed or stored vehicle. Curiosity, a dispute with a neighbor or a driver who cut you off doesn't qualify. That's why every free PA license plate lookup that promises an owner's name is either selling something else or can't deliver.

The right move in common Pennsylvania situations

After a crash or hit-and-run

Call the police, give them the plate, and get the report. The report is also your key to PennDOT: attached to a DL-135, it's what makes a tag-only request acceptable. Your insurer can usually request the record for you using the claim number.

A parking ticket or a car blocking your lot

A parking ticket is the other document PennDOT accepts with a tag-only request. For a car abandoned on private property, contact the police or a licensed tow operator; towing and storage businesses have a permitted reason to reach the owner.

Buying a used car

You won't need the owner's address, but you will need the VIN and the title number, which are exactly what PennDOT asks for. Check the title against the car, run a free VIN decode and recall check, and plan to finish the sale at an authorized PennDOT agent; our Pennsylvania auto bill of sale page explains why.

Your own vehicle

Requesting your own record on the DL-135 needs no notary. Your registration card and title already carry the plate, title number and VIN.

Is there a free PA license plate search?

Not for owner details, and in Pennsylvania not even for most vehicle details from a plate. A free plate lookup site usually returns generic vehicle data decoded from a VIN, or nothing useful. The legitimate options cost $15 at PennDOT, or nothing at all when the police handle a crash for you. If you're looking up a PA license plate for a vehicle you're buying, the VIN tells you more than the plate ever will.

Tag, plate, registration: same search

PennDOT's forms ask for the "tag number," and that's the word most drivers here use too. A PA tag search and a Pennsylvania plate search lead to the same DL-135 and the same rules. The same goes for a Philadelphia license plate search: the city has no separate plate records, because PennDOT keeps them for the whole state.

PA plate number lookup: quick answers

Use form DL-135, include the VIN or title number, and expect $15 per record. Owner details need the owner's release or a notarized statement of permitted use. A Pennsylvania license plate number lookup by plate alone won't be processed.

Pennsylvania plate lookup FAQ