What do police officers see when they call in a license plate?

Question

I was in a discussion with a few friends and they said that police can tell if the registered driver has a license and is insured I disagree..I know they can see if the car is stolen, or if the the registered driver has any warrants. Can they see if the actual registered driver is licensed and has insurance? Idon'tt think they canthat'ss why they ask for that stuff but I dunno??

Answer 1

In my cruiser, I have a center mounted laptop.  I can type in a plate number any time and tell who the vehicle is registered to, the month and year of plate expiration, and the vehicle that the plate is registered to.  I can also tell if the owner of the plate had a valid driver's license or if they're suspended or revoked.  As far as the insurnace part of your question, in Missouri where I live, the answer is no, we can't tell just by the plate if you have insurance.  I don't know about other states, though, it is possible that they have it on file electronicly.  Hope this helps.

Answer 2

Actually you are right.

When a plate is "called in" the only thing on the computer that shows is whether the car is stolen or if the owner of the vehicle is wanted.

The only way they can check if the driver has an actual license or insurance is by asking for it.

If it can't be, then there is a problem.......

Answer 3

They can see the conviction history and warrants for the owner of the car.  They can also see if an insurance company reported termination of insurance.

Answer 4

In the UK (and most other countries) they have ANPR fitted in the cars, and then that links back to the PNC and gives all details about that car.

Answer 5

Many states in the US are incorporating insurance coverage info into the databases now.

The days of driving around with an isurance policy packet and not actually having that insurance coverage are just about over.

Answer 6

They can see who owns the car, they can see if you have a licence if they have your name & dob, they can tell if you have a record, they can tell if you have outstanding warrants, they can find out lots of stuff due to database sharing in this modern age of computers  

Answer 7

Can't beleive how quick my photo showed up today on this website. I just left the DMV office and within 3 hours it was posted here: http://dmvdatabase.2golink.com