There are several methods to identify the owner of a car from its license plate. Indeed, finding a person or a vehicle thanks to its registration number is not so complicated. There are many solutions that allow you to obtain information about the owner of a vehicle from its license plate, but few people are aware of this and even fewer share it. Using a license plate search and by mining databases, it is possible to find details about vehicles and their owners based on the vehicle registration system (SIV) and information provided by the prefectures and insurers. Whether you want to solve a hit-and-run accident, check the history of a used car before buying it, or simply find out the owner’s contact details, access to this file and searches based on a license plate can provide the answers you’re looking for. 
Get information with a license plate number
There are several reasons to search for a car by its license plate. Whether it is for a suspected fraud, a fender bender followed by a hit and run, a note left on the windshield with only a license plate number, or to find this charming driver with a black SUV met on the A6 highway. In any case, it is possible to find out the information about the owner of a vehicle from its license plate. The alternatives depend on your budget and the situation. You can get information about a car, such as the model, based on the unique combination of characters on the license plate. The cars provide the model of the vehicle concerned, and it is also possible to find out information about the car, including information about the owner of the vehicle. For this to happen, the prefecture and the gendarmerie must have access to the databases containing the information on vehicles registered in the new system. By entering the plate from a database or a specialized site, you will be able to know the department number, the car model and, in some cases, obtain information about the owner. However, it is important to take into account the regulations in force concerning the protection of personal data and to use this information only in a legal and appropriate framework.
Can I obtain access to the SIV (formerly FNI) file to identify the owner of a vehicle?
The national registration file has been replaced by the new vehicle registration system, the SIV. This database is used to reference all vehicles and is exclusively reserved for law enforcement and the prefecture. In the event of a dispute, if you have taken note of a car’s license plate number, the authorities will have access to this confidential file and will be able to obtain all the information on the vehicle in question through the plate, including the date of registration, the serial number, the identity of the owner and the car model. With a few clicks, they will also have access to the owner’s phone number, the vehicle’s complete history (apart from the mileage, of course), as well as the technical inspection and the number of previous owners. For this to happen, the prefectural services must have previously communicated the vehicle information to the databases. In case of a hit-and-run or a serious problem on the road, you can also search on online spare parts or car rating websites, which provide information about the vehicle model only from its license plate. You can also request information from garages that sell used cars. This way, you will be able to find out more about the car in question and get the information you need to solve the problem.
So how do you find the owner of a car using the number plate?
As explained above, you have several choices. The first and most logical thing to do would be to turn to the police or gendarmerie, but they will never give you a name or an address (they will only register a complaint…). If you really want to put the name of the owner in front of the registration number of a car, you will have to use paying services such as “private detectives” (these people do wonders in this matter, because they are often very close to the police services… in exchange of some information, they manage to get these license plate information).
Finally, if you wish to obtain information on the priority of a license plate, there are also free online services (reverse directories) that allow you to perform a search. There are also discussion sites based on license plate information that are full of information on all contentious license plates.
The last solution, which works quite well, is the “bottle in the sea”: you comment on this article with the said registration, and our network will find the owner(remember to enter a correct email address).
