Is your organization struggling to get information from vehicles? You’re not the only one. There is a common misconception about the subject. Many people believe that license plates carry all the data about each vehicle. But the truth is that this plate links or identifies every vehicle with its owner. It varies depending on the agency, and it can be electronic too. In the United Kingdom, they call it ‘number plate’, whereas in the United States it is just a license plate. But, how can you search for car information by license plate? Is it possible to retrieve vehicle data from them?
License plates are indeed a way of registering a car, a motorcycle, or a truck, and they are usually installed on the front and back of it. They are also a fundamental component of law enforcement institutions, such as the police, penitentiaries, private security, and other security forces. It is also important for court personnel, attorneys, or building and office gatekeepers. They all accomplish tasks that sometimes involve decrypting license plates.
But there’s a problem that you might not be aware of: each state in America has its own distinct color scheme, seal, and format for registration numbers. For this reason, the US government created an additional code to go along with the license plate during the previous century.
The VIN: a help to search by license plates
You can complete crucial security tasks by adding a string of 17 characters (letters and numbers). This code, the Vehicle Identification Number, has helped find the answers to many questions. If the vehicle was ever recovered, if it was stolen, where it was made, what kind of engine it has, and other details. It works along with the license plate as a DNA sequence and a passport for a human. Therefore, if you know the number of the license plate, you will get much more information.
All the institutions mentioned above (security forces and law enforcement agencies) are able to use it to discover stolen vehicles, recalls, registrations, warranty claims, thefts, and insurance coverage. But it’s not that simple: Although you should be able to easily find the code in each car, sometimes they only have security camera footage as resource. The VIN is typically found on an identifying plate on the hood of antique cars, but it could also be hidden on purpose. After searching without luck through the engine, transmission, body, and other components, you would give up. If you don’t get a chance to inspect the vehicle closely, there is an extra technological solution. It is still possible to decode a license plate.
Simpler than you thought
Nowadays, developers are designing Application Programming Interfaces. These tools are useful to access, analyze, or search for data difficult to trace or study. They are compatible with Python, Node.js, Java, Javascript and Swift, among other programming languages. There are APIs that can do just some parts of the job we’re talking about. For instance, once you have the VIN, you enter it on the system and the API will return vehicle details such as the maker, country of origin, and model year. But other APIs can also begin the investigation by obtaining the VIN from the license plate.
If you go to the Zyla Labs Hub, you’ll find their API. Get VIN from License Plate API will collect any vehicle’s data searching only by license plate. This one works in all 50 states of the United States, with cars, vans, motorcycles, trucks, etcetera. You would only have to subscribe to Zyla Labs’ services, pay the pricing on their website and choose the best for your company. After you get into the server, it will deliver the VIN of the license plate requested, and also additional information like the motor, supplier, and model of vehicle. If you need even more information, you can integrate this API with another one, to increase the amount of information about each vehicle. Go check it out!