How plate search works
Plain answers about what happens when you search a plate.
1. Pick a state
The same characters can be on plates in many states, so every search starts with a state. Once you pick it, the dropdown shrinks to that state's flag. Tap the flag to change it.
2. Type or say the plate
The search bar only lets you type what that state can actually put on a plate: its maximum length and its allowed characters (letters, numbers, spaces and dashes, plus a few symbols in states that allow them). You can also press the big microphone and say something like “Ohio, A B C one two three four”; we understand spoken letters, the phonetic alphabet (“bravo”, “charlie”) and numbers.
3. We match the plate, not the formatting
Spaces and dashes are ignored when matching, so ABC-1234, ABC 1234 and ABC1234 find the same posts. Results are every visible post about that exact state and plate, newest first.
What search does not do
- It never tells you who owns a vehicle, where they live or anything from DMV records. We don't have that data and don't want it.
- It doesn't rank posts with ads or paid placement.
- It doesn't show posts that moderators removed or that were hidden after multiple reports.
Why you need to sign in
Search, Browse and Post all require an email code each visit. That keeps scraping bots out and makes every account answer to a real inbox.
About the plate rules
Our per-state character rules come from state DMV pages and public plate-format references. States change their rules, so if your state's plate won't fit, tell us.