It’s not as straight-forward as you might think to find vehicle owner information by using nothing but the number plate (VRM). The DVLA don’t hand out this information to just anyone, so you need to jump through a few hoops to get it.
Concerned about a vehicle? It may be a better idea to contact your local council if you have some concerns about a vehicle (such as an abandoned one), and there are processes in place to assist with this exact situation already.
Will a Vehicle Check show the registered keeper details?
No.
It is unlawful in the UK for us to disclose the registered keeper’s details without their permission and it’s the same for everyone else – unless you have a just cause, for example: if you are a parking charge company looking to find out the registered keeper to send them a fine, then that would probably be a “just cause”. A vehicle check service such as ours, or an HPI Check by a rival company, will not disclose the registered keeper’s details or address(es).
If you want to find out the current registered keeper’s name, address and so on then it may be possible – but it involves some legwork. You can find out more here in our guide on requesting driver information from the DVLA.
⭐ What owner information do you get in a Vehicle Check?
Our vehicle checks DO however show how many registered keeper(s) have owned the vehicle, we just cannot show specific personally identifiable information about the keepers.
Purchase a vehicle check from us, and we will include all this information related to the owner:
- The date that the previous keeper sold the vehicle
- The date the previous keeper purchased the vehicle
- How many previous owner(s) there are according to the V5C log book
- Date first registered
- Model year eg “2015”
- …and much more!
Our Premium vehicle check service costs only £9.95 (inc. VAT) and includes other checks like if the vehicle has ever been stolen, has outstanding finance and much more — Start here.
If you are buying a car and want to know if the registered keeper is genuine then make sure to check out our V5C verification guide as well.
How to find the address of the vehicle owner, by number plate?
If you want to find out the address then the process is the same as above, you will need to fill out form V888 from the DVLA and provide a “just cause” reason. However…
It’s unlikely that the DVLA will provide you with this information if for example you are concerned about a car that has been parked outside your house. It would be much better to tell the DVLA or the local council about it, rather than do any investigate work yourself. GOV.UK provides more information here including a helpful lookup feature if you aren’t sure who your local authority is.
I have a dispute/legal issue with someone and want to find out their details by their registration plate. Is it possible?
No, it is not possible using any “vehicle check” service, so you may wish to approach the DVLA who hold this information.
Again, your mileage will vary but generally this kind of situation will not come under “just cause” with the DVLA, but remember it’s free to try. The DVLA’s form for requesting personal information on a registered keeper – form V888 – asks the applicant to provide some information on why they are requesting this data. As per this thread, it is then up to the DVLA clerk to decide if they will divulge this or not, although with the advent of GDPR has made this a bit trickier still.
Hi,
I have 4 points on my license which was given a year back i.e. 20-May-2019 but i came to know on 21-May-2020 when i called insurance company to get the insurance renewed.
Neither i ever owned the car nor i was driving the car but when i contacted the court they said, name & DOB matches with the offender but not the address. I gave the Statutory declaration but it needs to be verified and it will take 2 months. The fine is still unpaid.
How can i get my points removed and insurance has gone up by 2.5 times?
Any help or suggestions would be really usefull.
Thanks
Can anyone help bought her damage repairable car trying to get in touch with last owner to see if there’s any service history and to get the spare set of keys can anybody help in finding it last owner of this car reg no I believe the car came from Daventry area anybody can help shed a little light on it tel [removed]
I sold a car to someone which they purchased by bank transfer. They have took the car and disputed the payment from the bank and the money has been returned to them. So I’ve been left with no car and none of the money is it possible to find the car off the reg
Hi Rob
Do you mean find the owner’s details? Unfortunately, these are only available from the DVLA directly. But it does sound like you would have a good reason to obtain them. Have you contacted the police as this sounds like fraud?
KM57OZF MY FRIEND RECEIVE A LETTER FROM AVIVA SHE DOSEN T PAY ISURANCE SHE DOSEN T SHE DOSEN T HAVE CAR . IS POSIBLE TO BE FRAUD HOW CAN I GOUND OWNER CAR?
It certainly sounds like fraud or ID theft of some sort. I would suggest to contact her bank immediately and report the issue.
Finding out the details of the owner is difficult, there is more information here: https://www.freecarcheck.co.uk/guides/checking-previous-owners-via-the-dvla/
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Hi Adam, You will need to place this vehicle registration into the box on the right / bottom.
I really want to find where my old car is so I can buy it back at some point but I doubt that’ll be a ‘just cause’
Hi Alex, same here! I want to locate my first motorbike! I sold it in Spain, and after 2 kids, a divorce and 14 years I’m ready to ride again!! Ha I’ve checked, its back in the UK, been sorn off the road for 2 years, with really low mileage, so I wrote to the DVLA and, yep, won’t give me the details, so I emailed back to see if they can give my details, but now we are in lockdown, I’m not going to hear back for a while… fingers crossed 🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻
some idiot crashed into my car and drove off i reported it to the police ,they did not want to know ! i have gone f to the dlva to reoslve the issue but they refuse to help and wont give out the driver information . how else can i get it the police say its too late to look into it now this is a nightmare thankyou
Hi, I am afraid we can’t give out driver information even in circumstances like this – as we simply don’t know it.
I would suggest to contact your car insurance company who can look into the issue and notify the police.
I filled in form D82 is this the wrong one? Where do I find form v 888?
The link to form V888 is here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/v888-request-by-an-individual-for-information-about-a-vehicle