Looking up the owner of a license plate is illegal in all 50 states, including Virginia, except when performed by a law enforcement officer in the course of his duties. However, it is possible to see if a personalized license plate is available through Virginia's Department of Motor Vehicles website.
While there are many websites and other services that claim to offer the ability to find the owner of a particular license plate, this activity is still illegal for private citizens. In addition, many of these services are fraudulent and merely take the credit card data or money of customers without providing any actual service.
