With 1,965,105 vehicles registered, Nebraska ranks 6th in the number of vehicles per capita [every 1000]. This equates to about 1.04 vehicles per person, and it's probably due to Nebraska's vast rural landscape and varied climate, which makes owning a car essential.
With so many vehicles, sometimes it necessitates searching for a license plate. For instance, when buying a used car or finding information about an abandoned vehicle, one may need to look up the license plate.
This article discusses different ways in which one can search for a license plate in the Cornhusker state.
Two Ways to Search a Nebraska License Plate
1) [Official] Contact the Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV)
The Nebraska DMV is responsible for registration and issuing license plates in the state. However, while the DMV does have all license plate records, it can only release them to certain parties or for permission reasons. The Uniform Motor Vehicle Records Disclosure Act [Link] governs who can access the data, and certain restrictions and fees may apply.
If you're eligible, fill the form "APPLICATION FOR COPY OF VEHICLE RECORD" [Link] and mail it to:
Nebraska Dept. of Motor Vehicles Driver & Vehicle Records Division
301 Centennial Mall South
P.O. Box 94789 Lincoln, NE
Ph: 68509-4789/(402) 471-3918
Fee: $1.00
The DMV can take anywhere from one to two weeks to process the request.
What data can you expect:
- Vehicle make
- Model year
- Title records
- VIN (vehicle identification number)
- Ownership History
- Vehicle registration status
2) [Free/Paid] Third-party lookup services
Using third-party services may be worth considering if you're after a quick and easy way to search a plate. Such services usually collate data from multiple public, private and proprietary sources and give a more granular and comprehensive vehicle report. You can expect to find vehicle history, service history, sale history, odometer tampering, accident history, and more using these services. However, if you're after ownership details, only some services may provide them, and there would certainly be a fee charged.
About our offering
LookupAPlate.com allows you to search for any plate for free and find out basic information like car specs, make, model and more. Using our community platform, you can also leave feedback against a plate if you had a negative experience with the owner. While ownership information is not available on our platform, we've partnered with a third-party service that may be able to provide that information for a fee.
How to identify a Nebraska plate?
The only way to tell if the license plate belongs to Cornhusker state is by design. The new design of the Nebraska license plate was introduced recently, but it will take some time before you see it on the roads.
The old design, which is also the most common, has a white background with blue stripes and grayscale graphics of the sower statue. On the top of the plate, there is "Nebraska" in blue letters, while the bottom features the text "1867; 2017".
The new design is based on the "Genius of Creative Energy" theme and features a roman harnessing earth, air, wind and fire.
Types of Nebraska license plates:
Like other states, Nebraska DMV offers several plate designs spread across different categories.
Standard plates: These are the general issue plate issues for anyone who doesn't opt for custom or specialty plates.
Specialty Plates: These plates are for special interest groups, causes, or alumni. They often require an annual fee in addition to the standard registration fee and have different eligibility requirements.
- Huskers
- Breast Cancer Awareness
- NE 150
- Mountain Lion
- Special Interest
- Amateur radio
- Native American
- Choose Life
Military
- disabled American veteran
- Ex-Prisoner of War
- Pearl Harbor Survivor
- Purple Heart
- Military honor with no military branch pictured
- Fallen Hero Gold Star Family
Organizational
- "The Beef State"
- Fire & Rescue
- Rail Road
- "Growing Nebraska" corn plate
- Omaha Chamber of Commerce
- University of Omaha Mavericks
- Ducks Unlimited
- Nebraska Henry Doorly Zoo
- Creighton University
- Planned Parenthood
Special Use
- Handicapped
- Historical
- Boat Dealer Trailer plate
- Transporter
- non-resident 30 day
- Repossession
Vanity plates: Standard and specialty plates can be customized with up to 7 characters. Customization fees are in addition to standard registration fees and are subject to DMV and state rules and regulations.
