Illinois License Plate Lookup

Illinois License Plate Lookup

When buying a vehicle, it is important to check the history and condition of the car. Illinois License Plate Lookup Services can help you to monitor the car’s condition, natural disaster damage, and so on.

However, as it is personal data, you will not be able to discover who the previous owners of your vehicle were.

But first, in order to drive lawfully in Illinois, you must register your car. You must provide a valid Illinois Driver’s ID and make the required payments. Generally, the cost differs from county to county. In some counties, you can do all the processes connected to the license plate online, while others may require you to visit the office.

The article guides you on how you can find the information on how you can register your car, renew your license plate and do a lookup.

Illinois License Plate Lookup Options

In Illinois, you can use License Plate Lookup services online or by visiting the county’s office. The license plate lookup gives you the opportunity to know all the details about your car. whether it had accidents or not, or has it faced any natural disasters. Illinois doesn’t have a united system for applications, but some of the requirements are the same.

When you decide on finding information about the vehicle online, you will need to open the website and enter your license plate number and see the results. You can find even the public photos and videos connected to the vehicle,

Usually, Illinois License Plate Lookup can help you to get the information about

  • Your vehicle title
  • The history of your vehicle: what had happened to your car before, what accidents had been, etc.
  • Where your vehicle has been produced when it was made and in what condition it is now.
  • As well as the information on how many times has your vehicle been repaired

In fact, you cannot find the data about the previous owners of the vehicle because it is personal data. The license lookup is generally free and you can search for an unlimited amount of times.

Sometimes you may see the FP lettering. In Illinois, it stands for the fleet plate. These plates are for businesses and organizations with a high number of vehicles. Because these multi-year plates don’t need individual validation, those companies won’t have to track each vehicle. The usual Illinois license plate is a blue and white backdrop with dark red text and a picture of Abraham Lincoln.

Illinois License Plate Types

In fact, Illinois gives several types of licenses: Military License Plate, Antique License Plate, Collegiate License Plate, Organizational Plate, etc.

Vehicles that are more than 24 years older can be eligible for Antique License plates. You only need to pay $30 dollars for your license plate. Take into account that you mustn’t have changed anything on your car.

Collegiate License Plates are usually meant for universities and colleges. You will need to pay $40 to obtain the plates. The renewal fee is  $27 to renew them. These fees are scholarships at the respective colleges.

Illinois Personalized License Plate

In Illinois you have two options when you apply for a personalized license plate: either you choose the vanity plate or the standard personalized plate.

The standard personalized plate is a mix of letters and digits. While the vanity plate can have only 3 digits or up to 7 letters.

The Illinois Secretary of State must approve the Illinois personalized license plates. They cannot contain a gap between the characters and the letters must be uppercase.

The State law prohibits also using unpleasant phrases and combinations. You can check if your desired license plate is available by using Illinois License Plate Lookup.

You can as well order your license plate online. The DMV will send you the license plate within 45 days. In general, only the people who have registered their vehicles can order license plates. Moreover, the plates must be registered to an Illinois DMV when they apply for insurance.

In Illinois, applying and obtaining a Vanity License plate costs $94. You don’t need to pay extra fees for your vehicle title and registration as the fee includes them as well.

A Personalized License Plate costs 47 dollars including title and registration fees.

The Secretary of State may reject specific applications, visit our subpage for a list of banned Illinois license plates.

Illinois Veteran License Plate

Veterans who participated in the war can apply for a Veteran License Plate. It usually contains the word “VETERAN” on it. In order to get your veteran license plate, the applicant must

  • get the United States military discharge
  • have been reserve/member of the National Guard
  • or have retired from the United States military

The military workers who are currently on a duty can also apply for an Illinois License Plate.

The License Plate is free for the above-mentioned people. Within 180 days after the veteran’s death, the veteran’s immediate family members can apply and keep the veteran’s military license plates. Veterans can apply for the free transfer of their license plate to a military license plate. They may need to pay extra fees only for vanity and customized military plates have fees. The same applies to disabled veterans. They don’t need to pay for the usual license plate for the first time.

Getting Your License Plate In Illinois

You must first register your vehicle in the Illinois county’s office before applying for an Illinois license plate. If you have recently bought a car in Illinois you will have 30 days to register your vehicle. After that, you’ll be given a temporary registration permit to use while you wait for your license plates to arrive. The permit allows you to drive up to 90 days or until your license plates arrive. Each vehicle must have two license plates attached to it: one on the front side and one on the backside.

When applying for a license plate in Illinois, you’ll need the following:

  • To register your automobile, fill out the application form.
  • Documents pertaining to the safety audit
  • You must present your Illinois driver’s license.
  • Verifications of your payments
  • The shipment date and any relevant documentation

Generally, you can transfer your license plate to a new car. But you cannot change the owner of the license plate. If you don’t need the license plate any longer you can surrender it.

The Electronic Registration and Titling System allow Illinois vehicle owners to begin their title application online. They can submit their applications to a Secretary of State office by email or by visiting the office. You need to provide only the right information.

License Plate Renewal

Whenever your license plate is expiring, you should apply for license plate renewal. It is quite easy and convenient in Illinois. Some weeks before the expiration date you will get a reminder. After you will need to apply for a renewal online or by visiting the office. You will need to take the following steps:

  • First, you will need to enter the website and fill out your ID of registration and PIN. These are available on your current registration card. In case you haven’t yet got your ID and PIN you can just call the Public Inquiry Division and get them. Then you will get hints about what to do on your screen.
  • Secondly, you will need to make a payment. VISA, Master Card, American Express, and Discover Card are available.
  • Finally, make a copy of your receipt. Your plate or sticker has been ordered and will be sent to the address you provided. Usually, it takes from five up to seven working days to send you your sticker.

You will need to pay $151 for a usual license plate renewal. However, the personalized plate and vanity plate cost a bit differently. You will need to pay $158 for personalized plate renewal and $164 for vanity plate renewal. If you make the payment online, extra fees may happen because of card transactions.

Those who have a vehicle in can also get a month after the expiration date to renew their license plate. Thus, they won’t need to make any extra payments or pay fines.

Illinois License Plate Replacement

If the vehicle owners have lost their license plate or it was damaged, they can apply for a license replacement. It is not a difficult process.

First, you will need to fill out an application form. You can do it online, by visiting any of the local offices or writing an email. The fees for the license replacement are below.

  • If you need to replace only one license plate you will need to pay $26.
  • When both plates are lost, stolen, or damaged, you will have to pay $29 in total.

If you have lost just one of the plates and don’t want to change the number of the plate, you must keep the remaining one and visit the Secretary of State’s Office. You will need to apply and make a payment. Your new license plate with the previous number will be ready in a few days. The DMV will deliver it to you.

However, if you have lost both plates you cannot apply and keep the previous number. You will obtain a totally new license plate with a new number as in other two-plate states such as Idaho, Hawaii, etc.

Amalik B

Amalik B

Amalik is a junior content writer. She has graduated from YSU as a pedagogy philologist of the French language. During a year of her experience as a content writer, Amalik has written content for several websites and took part in some social media campaigns. Since 2017, she has been a volunteer in PAVU being an interpreter in various events. Nowadays she is also volunteering in Children of Regions, and in the frames of some projects teaches English and French.