Purchasing a used car in Colorado can be somewhat daunting. While you're eager to find a good deal on a dependable vehicle, how can you truly verify that the car doesn't come with an undisclosed past? That's where a Colorado license plate lookup comes in. With a quick search, you can uncover critical details about its history, empowering you to make a smarter, safer purchase decision. FAXVIN provides the most reliable, comprehensive reporting tool to give Colorado car buyers peace of mind.
How It Works
We offer both a free license plate lookup and a comprehensive paid report. To get a free report, enter the Colorado license plate into the search tool. Within seconds, you'll get access to key facts:
- Vehicle Identification Number (VIN): This unique 17-character code acts as the vehicle's fingerprint. It's used to track the car's history as it changes hands over the years. Uncovering the VIN is the first step to an in-depth background Colorado license plate check on any motor vehicle.
- Basic Vehicle Attributes: Our free Colorado license plate lookup report also provides essential vehicle specs like the make, model, year, trim, engine, and transmission. These details help you verify that the car matches what the seller has told you.
- Format Validation: We verify that the entered plate matches Colorado's current serial patterns (e.g., ABC-D12) to catch obvious typos before running your search.
Best of all, our free license plate lookup reports are truly free – no payment info required, no strings attached. You don't even have to give us your name. The Colorado license plate search is totally anonymous, so you can get the car information you need without compromising your privacy.
What Facts Can I Discover by Checking Colorado License Plates?
Here are some of the key details you may find in our Colorado license plate lookup reports:
- Accident History: Uncover the dates and details of any accidents the vehicle has been involved in.
- Reported Odometer Readings: Confirm the car's actual mileage with a complete record of odometer readings.
- Open Recalls and Safety Defects: Get notified of any open recalls & defects that could compromise your safety.
- Flood, Hail, and Fire Damage: Steer clear of cars that have suffered severe weather or fire damage.
- Mileage Rollback: Detect odometer tampering and fraud.
- Lien & Repossession Records: Ensure the car has a clean title with no outstanding financial obligations.
- Vehicle Specifications: Get a complete profile of the car's features and options.
- Theft & Recovery Records: Avoid inadvertently purchasing a stolen vehicle.
- Personal, Taxi, or Police Use: Find out if the vehicle has been used for commercial or law enforcement purposes.
Knowledge of these potential red flags empowers you to make the best decision for your budget and safety. A comprehensive report pays for itself many times over by helping you avoid a lemon.
The most common used car fraud schemes include odometer rollback, title washing, VIN cloning, undisclosed damage or repairs, and misrepresenting a car's condition or history.
Comprehensive Vehicle Reports
FAXVIN offers comprehensive vehicle history reports that provide a deeper insight into a vehicle's past. This service can reveal critical details that are not easily accessible through a simple license plate check.
A paid FAXVIN report includes:
- Detailed Accident Reports: Get in-depth information about past accidents, including damage severity, repair costs, and affected areas.
- Service Records: Access the vehicle's maintenance and service history, which is vital for understanding how well the car has been maintained.
- Previous Owners: Find out how many owners the vehicle has had and whether it has been used as a rental or a fleet vehicle.
- Market Value: Obtain an estimate of the vehicle's current market value based on its history and condition.
Is It the Same As Checking a VIN?
A Colorado license plate search works similarly to a VIN check, but the two numbers serve different purposes. The VIN provides more granular details about the vehicle, like its color, engine specs, and performance data. You can usually find the VIN printed on the door jamb or lower corner of the windshield on the driver's side. A valid VIN should have exactly 17 characters - anything more or less is a red flag.
The Colorado license lookup focuses on the assigned plate. It can save you money if the VIN has been tampered with or changed fraudulently. By cross-referencing the two numbers, you can spot any discrepancies that might indicate improper activity.
How Do We Get the Data?
Our Colorado license plate lookup tool aggregates data from an array of reputable sources, including government agencies, car auctions, repair shops, insurers, and law enforcement. We not only digitally parse these records for maximum efficiency, but our team also manually reviews any records that seem incomplete or questionable.
Statewide Legislation on License Plates
It's important to note that no legitimate Colorado license plate lookup service will reveal the personal details of a vehicle's current or past owners. Strict federal and state privacy laws prohibit disclosing this sensitive information to unauthorized parties.
Under the federal Driver's Privacy Protection Act (DPPA) and Colorado statutes, the release of personal information tied to a vehicle registration is strictly limited. Obtaining someone's name and address from a Colorado license plate can facilitate identity theft, harassment, and other crimes that jeopardize public safety. Requests for this confidential information must go through official channels, such as the DMV, and are permitted only for a DPPA-permissible use (e.g., insurance, litigation, law enforcement) or with the vehicle owner’s written authorization.
How to Request Official Owner/Lienholder Data
You can't get personal owner data from any online "lookup". Colorado releases it only through the DMV under the DPPA.
Use this path for legitimate purposes (insurance, court case, POA, etc.):
- Download Form DR 2489A – Motor Vehicle Requestor Release (state fee $2.25 per record).
- Confirm you meet a permissible use or include a signed & notarized authorization/POA from the owner.
- Submit as directed on the form; allow processing time from the county/DMV.
Colorado Tags Formats, Types, and Designs
Standard Colorado plates feature the familiar white mountain backdrop with green characters. Passenger serials use letters and numbers, but the exact pattern (letter–number order and separators) has changed several times as new base designs were introduced and previous number blocks were exhausted. The timeline below summarizes standard passenger formats only – specialty, university, and organizational plates often use different colorways and their own serial rules.
| Period | Serial Format | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1975 – 1976 | AB-1234 |
Centennial commemorative base; county-coded. |
| 1977 – 1981 | AB-1234 |
Mountain design returns; county-coded. Letters I and O introduced to the die set with this 7-character pattern. |
| 1982 – 1992 | ABC-123 |
Three-letter county codes; county-coded. |
| 1992 – 1999 | ABC 1234 |
Four-digit serial per county code; letters I and O added in this period; county-coded. |
| 2000 – 2015 | 123-ABC |
Screened mountain background. Letter Q not used until early 2013; then issued in sequence after 999-ZZZ. |
| 2015 – 2018 | ABC-123 |
Re-use of unused 1982–92 blocks. Q added in each position (QAA-001 – QZZ-999), followed by O; additional reissues followed. |
| 2018 – present | ABC-D12 |
Current standard format (three letters, hyphen, letter–digit–digit). |
Knowing the Colorado license format can help you spot an invalid plate before running a plate lookup.
Colorado Plate Basics
- Most passenger vehicles must display two plates – front and rear.
- Exceptions: motorcycles, autocycles, street-rod vehicles, trailers/semitrailers, and special mobile machinery – rear plate only.
- Validation tabs: month (bottom-left) and year (bottom-right) on the rear plate.
Personalized Tags
Colorado Personalized Plates allow you to create a custom license plate with your own combination of letters, numbers, and spaces.
- Customization: Up to 7 characters (6 for motorcycles), including spaces, dashes, and periods. Availability varies by plate design.
- Cost: Personalized plates have an extra fee, depending on the design and registration type.
- Approval: The text must meet DMV guidelines and be approved for appropriateness.
- Application: You can apply online, in person, or by mail.
Personalized plates let you express your unique style on the road.
Disability License Plates
Colorado issues both disability license plates and disability parking placards to qualified individuals. Eligibility requires certification by a licensed medical professional. Placards are issued at no charge; disability plates are subject to regular license fees and ownership taxes. Impairments are classified as Permanent, Extended (not expected to change within 30 months), Temporary (expected to last less than 30 months), and Short-Term (up to 90 days). Short-Term privileges are issued as placards only; plates are typically issued when the condition is expected to last beyond the short-term. Apply online or through your county motor vehicle office using Form DR 2219 and the required medical certification. For Short–Term placards, certification may also be provided by a Colorado-licensed chiropractor or physical therapist.
Dealer License Plates
Dealer License Plates in Colorado are issued to licensed vehicle dealerships, allowing them to use cars for testing, demonstrations, or transportation. These plates are for business use and can be applied to any vehicle in the dealership's inventory. Dealer plates are not for personal use and must be displayed on dealership-owned vehicles.
Digital License Plates
Colorado permits a digital plate on the rear only (the front must remain a physical state plate). It must keep the plate number and expiration clearly legible day and night; vendor device/subscription fees apply in addition to state registration, and owners authorize DMV record access via Form DR 2489A.
Colorado issues temporary license plates that can be used for 60 days, allowing new vehicle owners to drive while waiting for their permanent plates.
How to Use Information
The data from a Colorado license plate lookup can be invaluable for both car buyers and sellers in Colorado.
As a Buyer
- Verify the seller's claims about the vehicle's history and condition.
- Compare the histories of similar vehicles to find the best value.
- Detect any red flags that could indicate a risky purchase.
- Negotiate a better price if the car has issues like high mileage or past accidents.
- Avoid falling victim to scams and fraud.
- Buy with confidence, knowing you have the full story of your new purchase.
As a Seller or Dealer
- Price your vehicle appropriately based on its history.
- Provide transparency that builds trust with potential buyers.
- Identify and address any issues with the car before listing it for sale.
- Avoid liability by ensuring the car is safe and legally registered.
FAXVIN makes it a breeze to run a tag search. Enter the plate on this page, choose the state, and select "Check Plate".
How Do I Protect Myself From Fraud?
Though license plate and VIN checkers give a lot of valuable information, they alone cannot protect you unless you make informed decisions. Know your rights and demand what is yours.
- If you see that a vehicle has been recalled but the issue wasn't handled, ask the dealer about it. Pay attention to how they answer: if they behave nervously or are far too confident and the explanation sounds unlikely, save yourself and don't make a deal.
- If you find out that the car has been stolen, you are free to contact the police.
- Naturally, car dealers check VIN and license numbers, too. They know everything that you do. If they do nothing about the issues with property, registration, accidents, or inspections, they either are careless or use unfair business practices.
The smartest approach is to double-check everything. Arm yourself with knowledge from a Colorado license plate lookup, but also get an independent inspection and take the car for a test drive.
The Bottom Line
A Colorado license plate lookup helps buyers check a used car's history, including accident records, odometer readings, and recalls. FAXVIN offers free and paid reports, with the paid version providing detailed information like service records and previous owners. Colorado also offers personalized, disability, and dealer plates, as well as temporary plates for new owners. Performing a plate lookup ensures you avoid fraud and make informed decisions when purchasing a vehicle, providing peace of mind for both buyers and sellers.
Helpful Links
Frequently Asked Questions
Can You Access a Vehicle History Report Using a Colorado License Plate Number?
Is Performing a Free License Plate Lookup in Colorado Legal?
How Do You Register a Motor Vehicle and Obtain a CO License Plate?
Registering a motor vehicle in Colorado is a straightforward process:
- Obtain a valid Colorado title and registration for the vehicle.
- Pass an emissions test if required in your county.
- Present proof of insurance meeting Colorado's minimum coverage requirements.
- Submit a completed registration application and pay the associated fees.
Once your registration is processed, you'll receive your registration plates to attach to your motor vehicle.
How Can You Look Up the Owner of a License Plate in Colorado?
Do You Need a Front License Plate in Colorado?
Can You Get a Black Colorado License Plate?
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