Connecticut license plate lookup

Turn a Connecticut (CT) plate into a VIN, full vehicle specs and open safety recalls — and see exactly how Connecticut plate serials are formatted.

Connecticut plate formats

Standard-issue passenger series. Regex patterns match the normalized serial — uppercase, with spaces and dashes removed.

AB 12345 Currently issued
^[A-Z]{2}\d{5}$

Issued since 2015.

1AB CD2 Previous series, still on the road
^\d[A-Z]{4}\d$

Issued 2013-2015.

123 ABC Previous series, still on the road
^\d{3}[A-Z]{3}$

Issued 2000-2013.

Letters I, O and Q are not used in the current series.

What a Connecticut plate lookup returns

The VIN

The vehicle's 17-character VIN — the key to everything else. Validate one anytime with our free VIN validator.

Free VIN validator

Full specifications

Year, make, model, trim, engine, drivetrain, dimensions and factory options via VIN decoding.

VIN Decoding API

Open safety recalls

Every open NHTSA recall campaign for the vehicle, including do-not-drive advisories — free to check.

Free recall check
For developers

Convert Connecticut plates to VINs by API

Dealers, marketplaces and fleets automate CT plate lookups with one HTTP call — the VIN comes back with a quick decode of make, model, year and trim. Repeat lookups of the same plate are cached for 7 days, free.

POST /api/convert
{
  "state": "CT",
  "plate": "AB 12345"
}

Connecticut plate lookup FAQ

What format are Connecticut license plates?

Current standard-issue Connecticut passenger plates use the format AB 12345 (A = letter, digits shown as numbers). Older series remain valid and on the road — the full list, including recent previous series, is on this page.

How do I look up a Connecticut license plate?

Enter the plate and select CT in our free lookup to identify the vehicle, see its open safety recalls, and jump to its full specs and photos. Businesses can automate Connecticut plate lookups through the PlateToVIN API.

Can I get a VIN from a Connecticut license plate?

Yes. A registered Connecticut plate resolves to the vehicle's 17-character VIN, which unlocks the exact year, make, model, trim and factory specifications. That's exactly what our plate-to-VIN service does, for Connecticut and all 50 states.

Is it legal to look up a Connecticut license plate?

Plate lookups are legal for permissible purposes such as verifying a vehicle you're buying, dealership and fleet operations, or insurance workflows. PlateToVIN is not a consumer reporting agency, and results may not be used for FCRA-regulated decisions like employment, credit or insurance eligibility.