How do I look up a Florida tag number?

Enter the tag number with Florida selected in the box above. You get the VIN and vehicle details registered to that tag. Owner information is not available to the public.

Does Florida require a front license plate?

No. Florida issues one plate, which goes on the rear of the vehicle.

How long is a Florida temporary tag good for?

A temporary tag from a Florida dealer is valid for 30 days.

What happens to my Florida plate when I sell my car?

You keep it. Remove the plate before the buyer drives away, then transfer it to your next vehicle or surrender it at a tax collector office.

Can I get a VIN from a Florida tag?

Yes. Enter the tag number with Florida selected and the lookup returns the VIN of the vehicle it is registered to, with the year, make, model and trim.

Can I find the owner of a Florida tag?

Not through a public lookup. Owner details in Florida vehicle records are protected by the federal Driver’s Privacy Protection Act and released only for purposes the law allows, such as by court order or to an insurer handling a claim.

Florida License Plate & Tag Lookup

Enter a Florida tag number to get the vehicle’s VIN, year, make, model and trim.

In Florida the plate is usually called a tag, and you get one from the county tax collector, not a DMV office. Standard plates have six characters, and the order of letters and numbers has changed over the years, so two plates on the same street can look quite different.

Florida tag to VIN

A Florida tagnumber points to one current registration, and the registration records the vehicle’s 17-character VIN. Enter the tag above to get the VIN with the year, make, model, trim, body and engine. It is the quickest way to get the VIN of a car you are not standing next to: one in a listing, one you are quoting a repair for, or your own when the title is in a drawer somewhere.

Florida license plate formats

Standard passenger plates use these formats. Personalized, specialty, commercial and motorcycle plates follow their own rules, and every format works in the lookup.

Format	What it is
ABCD12	Six characters. Four letters and two numbers is the most common layout on standard plates.
1234AB	Some standard issues put four numbers before two letters.

Florida issues one plate, for the rear of the vehicle.

Who issues plates in Florida

Plates and registrations in Florida come from the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, and people go in person to county tax collector offices, which most Floridians call the tag office. Plate Decoder is an independent service and is not affiliated with the FLHSMV or any other government agency.

Temporary tags in Florida

Florida dealers issue temporary tags, valid for 30 days, while the permanent registration is processed. A temporary tag is a real registration with its own number, and it is printed through the state’s electronic system rather than written by hand.

Personalized and specialty plates

Personalized plates can have up to seven characters, and FLHSMV has an online tool to check whether a combination is free. Florida also has more than a hundred specialty plates, from universities to sports teams, each of which can be personalized.

The plate stays with the owner, not the car

When a Florida car is sold, the seller keeps the plate and can move it to their next vehicle. A plate number can therefore have belonged to more than one car. A lookup shows the vehicle the plate is registered to now.

What a Florida plate lookup can and can’t show

You get the vehicle: VIN, year, make, model, trim, body and engine. You do not get the person. See what a plate lookup shows for the full list.

What we don’t show, and why

No owner names, addresses, phone numbers or photos. Owner details in DMV records are protected by the federal Driver’s Privacy Protection Act, and looking someone up out of curiosity is not a purpose it allows. Any site that promises the owner of a plate for a few dollars is either breaking that law or not going to deliver.

Who can get owner records, and what to do instead

FAQ

Florida plate lookup questions

How do I look up a Florida tag number?: Enter the tag number with Florida selected in the box above. You get the VIN and vehicle details registered to that tag. Owner information is not available to the public.
Does Florida require a front license plate?: No. Florida issues one plate, which goes on the rear of the vehicle.
How long is a Florida temporary tag good for?: A temporary tag from a Florida dealer is valid for 30 days.
What happens to my Florida plate when I sell my car?: You keep it. Remove the plate before the buyer drives away, then transfer it to your next vehicle or surrender it at a tax collector office.
Can I get a VIN from a Florida tag?: Yes. Enter the tag number with Florida selected and the lookup returns the VIN of the vehicle it is registered to, with the year, make, model and trim.
Can I find the owner of a Florida tag?: Not through a public lookup. Owner details in Florida vehicle records are protected by the federal Driver’s Privacy Protection Act and released only for purposes the law allows, such as by court order or to an insurer handling a claim.