New York License Plate Lookup Options
Another instance when a driver may find a license plate lookup useful is if they are interested in purchasing a vehicle in a private sale and want to find out its history before deciding whether or not to buy it.In New York, the state DMV offers a vanity plate lookup service, accessible from their website. This search function allows users to search for a personalized plate to see if it is available to be registered. Other third-party websites allow drivers to search for a particular license plate, and the information that it returns varies among the different websites.
New York Vanity License Plate Lookup
New York residents can search for an available personalized plate at the state?s DMV website, located here. Users are prompted to enter the type of plate they are requesting (passenger, commercial, or motorcycle) and can then enter a custom plate combination, composed of letters, numbers, and characters. Passenger and commercial plates can be made up of 2-8 characters, while motorcycle plates allow for 2-6 characters.
If the preferred combination is available, the user is shown a picture of their potential New York license plate and they can then follow the prompts for ordering it online. The website also provides guidelines on which characters and combinations are acceptable.
New York License Plate Lookup Online
This license plate search tool promises to provide information about the vehicle and the vehicle?s owner, for free. The information they provide for New York license plate lookup includes:
- A comprehensive vehicle history, including whether the owner followed a maintenance schedule for upkeep.
- If the vehicle has ever been in an accident.
- If there are any standing recalls on the vehicle.
A second third-party website that enables New York license plate lookup can be accessed here at SearchQuarry.com and provides the following results when the user types in the license plate number and specifies the state:
- Owner?s name and address that the vehicle is registered to.
- Vehicle VIN number
- Vehicle registration information, including the VIN, year, make, and model type.
- Vehicle Safety & Recall Data

My liscense plate in the back has peeled off and is flapping in the wind. I guess I need them both replaced. How do I go about doing that now with Covid restrictions in place?
Martha, you can visit the NY DMV website and request to have your license plates replaced. They may ask you to drop off your old license plates or mail them in.
How to replace a damaged NY license plate
Go to the New York DMV website and fill out an application for replacement of a license plate. This is a form that will just replace your existing damaged NY license plate with new license plates. There will be a nominal cost of $20 and you can mail in your old license plates. Your new NY license plates will be mailed to you in 4-6 weeks
when I renew registration I did order the new plate also and its arrived and I replace it where and how I can return the old plate ?
Emre, you can return the old license plate to the New York DMV. You can go online and look to where you can mail it back to the DMV or drop it off to your local NY DMV office
Vehicle parked in private lot
Thank you for reaching out about our NY license plate lookup, please let us know how we can assist you. Typically when there is a vehicle parked where they shouldn’t be parked on private property, you can leave a note, contact property management or have the police come and issue a notice or citation.
Hello. I was supposed to meet up with a kid to buy an
Xbox One S for $220. He left me with a piece of a printer equipment. I saw a picture of him with the license plate, but I’m unsure if it’s his, his parents or a neighbor. HUV 1677 is the plate from NY. I assume it’s not his car, but maybe a relative of his. We were meeting up to exchange his Xbox One S for $220, but when I got home it was only a piece of printer and empty boxes. I’m wondering if I can do anything about him robbing me.
This is car is been habgingnout on every night at West 151 between broadway and amsterdam. He even tried to hit someokne with his car. He’s been there all week
You should contact the NY police about this matter. Unfortunately there is not much we can do since we don’t have an affiliation with law enforcement.
Your best bet is to contact the police about this matter. We do not have an affiliation with the NY police department so you will want to reach out to them and explain your case and see how they can assist you.