The Expert Podcast

Introduction to Vehicle Records:
  • Vehicle title and registration records aren't typically public but can be accessed through various sources.
  • Investigators are using these records to track vehicle ownership and lien holders.
The Growing Industry of Investigating Misregistered Vehicles:
  • Some individuals register their vehicles in states with lower taxes to save money.
  • Example: A person living in New York may register their vehicle at a relative's address in Florida to avoid higher taxes.
How Investigators Track Misregistered Vehicles:
  • Local municipalities hire investigators to spot vehicles with out-of-state plates, especially those parked regularly in one area.
  • Investigators use cameras with algorithms to track license plates and flag suspicious activity.
License Plate Tracking with ALPR (Automated License Plate Recognition):
  • ALPR systems use optical character recognition (OCR) to scan license plates and convert them into data about the vehicle, including ownership history, lien holders, and previous owners.
  • ALPR is used to confirm a vehicle's location and activity over time.
Impact on Investigations:
  • Visible license plates reveal much more information than most people realize, including where someone lives, whether they owe taxes, and their vehicle's history.
  • If you're involved in an investigation, it's important to understand that vehicle records and license plates can reveal crucial information, especially when using automated systems like ALPR.
Key Takeaway:
  • License plates and vehicle activity are invaluable tools for investigators to verify someone's statements, track movements, and uncover hidden truths. Be mindful of the information that can be gathered through automated license plate tracking systems.

What is The Expert Podcast?

The Expert Podcast brings you firsthand narratives from experts across diverse industries, including private investigators, general contractors and builders, insurance agencies, vehicle specialists, lawyers, and many others.

So you've heard us talk before about motor vehicle records and investigating vehicle title records. Here's the thing: vehicle records, even though they're not public information or open-source information, have sources that can be discovered—such as who the owner is and who the lien holder is. In fact, there is now a cottage industry of certain investigators hunting for misregistered vehicles.

What does that mean? Well, certain municipalities, government towns, cities, counties, and even states know that some people will register their vehicles in another state to try to save taxes. For example, if you live in New York and taxes are high, you might register at your cousin's house in Florida to save taxes. The problem is, that’s costing the state money, so what they do is hire investigators to look for vehicles that are parked regularly with out-of-state plates. Even if they have in-state plates but are from a different city, they might be trying to save on city or county taxes.

What they do is not just look manually at this; they have an algorithm where they use cameras that monitor license plates over and over. If they see that a license plate is parked in the same driveway, parking lot, shopping mall, or commercial property, and they can see that the plate is registered in another city or county, they know something might be off. Most municipalities or government agencies have a grace period, so if you move, you can switch over your registration within 30 days. But after 30 days, if you're extending your stay without paying your taxes, that might result in a penalty.

How does this affect the investigative industry? Well, if you are a potential client, be aware that your license plate being visible is telling the world more about you than you know. Your name, address, lien holder (if you have one), and all kinds of other information about that vehicle can be determined from the license plate—even the history of that vehicle, who owned it, and when it was purchased.

So if you're doing something you don't want discovered or if you want to uncover something about someone else, be aware that license plates can reveal a lot. It can even be automated. There's a process called ALPR—Automated License Plate Reader. It reads license plates and does OCR (Optical Character Recognition) on the plate, translating it into ownership information. License plates and vehicle activity can be a big benefit to certain investigations, helping to discover activity, movements, and to reveal whether or not a statement being made by a person about their whereabouts is actually true.