Background Checking:
The Secret to Finding People (continued)

< Previous

Obtaining Vehicle Registration Records

Unlike the driver’s license which sometimes tends to offer addresses that are not current, the vehicle registration records are a great way to zero in on someone. They almost always yield current addresses, perhaps for the reason that motor vehicle registration is renewed annually, unlike the driver’s licenses which are renewed every few years. So, consequently, the address you get from the registration records is at most only a year old.

How you can obtain registration records?

Some states required you to present a letter of request, stating the appropriate records you wanted to look at. With this letter of request, you can search vehicle registration records by using the owner’s name, by the license number or by the use of identification number.

Name Search

Searching by name is just very simple. All you need to do is to ask the DMV in the appropriate state for a list of all the vehicles registered to your subject’s name.

License Number Search

If you know, the license number of the vehicle owned by your intended subject, you can ask the DMV to trace that number and give you the address of the person who owns the plate. As simple as that!

Vehicle Identification Number Search

Now, if you know the vehicle identification number (VIN) of a car or truck owned by your subject, you can ask the DMV to trace the ownership of that vehicle. What is nice about this method is that the vehicle registration records can lead you to a subject who has moved some time ago, since the ownership of motor vehicles is tracked so carefully by the government. So, if you know a specific vehicle your subject owned, even if it was some years ago, you may still be able to use that piece of information to find him today.

Okay, here’s how:

• Ask for a vehicle history or a body file on the vehicle from the DMV.
• Note that that packet of information you are requesting will include the names and addresses of everyone who ever owned the vehicle.
• Working back from the current owner, you should be able to contact all the previous owners of the vehicle. The person who dealt with your subject may recall information about them that can help lead you to them.

Furthermore, here’s what you can do to find your subject:

1. Check the Traffic Tickets – If your subject is the kind of person who doesn’t provide accurate or proper information on licenses or other official documents, simply check to see if he or she has any traffic tickets. Do that by asking for driving records first. If there are tickets on your subject’s record, write to the city or jurisdiction where the ticket was issued. Then, ask for a copy of the citation. The copy should include the make, model as well as license number of the vehicles involved in the incident. After that, go back to the DMV and find out who owns that vehicle. In most cases, the owner will be someone who knows your subject and can provide information about his current address.

1. Obtain Accident Reports – Accident reports are useful if you discover that our subject was involved in an accident. You can obtain a wealth of information especially if lawsuits were filed as a result of the crack up. From the DMV, you can find out where the accident occurred. Or, you can contact the city or jurisdiction and get a copy of the police report that was filed for the accident.

If you’ve gathered the data, note all the parties involved in the accident. The report will include addresses and other information for all of them, and there’s a possibility that you can find out a lot more about everyone involved, especially if any lawsuits were filed as a result of the mishap. With the information, take the name of everyone involved in the accident to the local courthouse. Then, ask the clerk to check to see if any of those people are involved in any lawsuits. If so, review all the paperwork involved.

1. Look for RV’s, ATV’s and Snowmobiles Licenses – Note that these vehicles are also licensed by the state, and these can be used to lead you to their owners. So, check with the DMV to see how you can gather registration records of these vehicles.

1. Track Ownership Records for Boats – You can track ownership records for boats much the same way you track motor vehicle records. So, search for people using their names, ownership and registration records of the vessels, and even with the use of the identification number of the boat. You can also order a vessel history and then trace ownership of the boat the same way you can for the motor vehicles.

1. Obtain Airplane Records – These records are usually kept by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). So, if your subject happened to be a pilot or owns an aircraft, the FAA will have records on him or her. Typically, the FAA records on pilot includes the person’s address, the type of aircraft he/she is licensed to fly, as well as the date of the person’s medical examination.

So those are basically the ways to obtain information and locate the person of your interest. The resources mentioned are just out there, but oftentimes you may find them hard to locate especially if you don’t really know where to look or what to look for. So note them carefully.

< Previous