Rego Lookup Australia
Adding a car and can't find the VIN? A rego lookup takes 10 seconds and fills the vehicle's details for you — straight from the plate.
What is a rego lookup?
A rego lookup uses an Australian number plate to identify the vehicle it belongs to. Enter the plate and state, and AutoBrain fills in the VIN, make, model, year, body type and engine — no typing a spec sheet by hand. It's a convenience for adding a car to your garage, not a registration validity check.
In Australia, each state runs its own registry — VicRoads in Victoria, Service NSW in New South Wales, and so on. AutoBrain's rego lookup pulls the vehicle's identification from a rego-data provider (the same source the state registries publish), so the details land in your garage in one step.
Why use a rego lookup?
- Add a car in seconds. Plate in, full spec out — VIN, make, model, year and body type filled automatically.
- Insurance and roadside. Insurers and roadside services ask for the VIN — a rego lookup gets you the exact identifier without hunting through paperwork.
- A tidy garage. Every vehicle carries consistent, correct details, so your logbook, services and exports stay clean.
- Club and fleet entries. Bulk-add member or fleet vehicles without re-keying each spec.
What a rego lookup fills in
The exact fields vary by state, but a rego lookup typically returns the vehicle's identification:
- VIN: The 17-character vehicle identification number.
- Make and model: e.g. Mazda 3, Toyota HiLux.
- Year: Manufacture/build year.
- Body type: The vehicle type — sedan, ute, wagon, SUV and so on.
- Engine: Engine number and type.
Rego lookup does not check registration validity
AutoBrain's rego lookup identifies the vehicle only. It does not tell you whether the registration is current, suspended or cancelled, and it does not show encumbrances, expiry or plate history.
If you need to confirm a registration is valid, check for money owing, or see a vehicle's history, use the official state registry (Service NSW, VicRoads, and so on) or the Personal Property Securities Register (PPSR, $2 via the PPSR website). AutoBrain fills in your car's details — those checks are separate.
Rego lookup pricing & self-hosting
Rego lookup is one of AutoBrain's paid data features — it stays in sync with a live rego-data provider and is included with paid hosted plans. It is not available on the free tier.
For self-hosting, rego lookup is opt-in: you acquire and configure your own rego-data provider API key (an X-API-Key-authenticated provider). Without it, AutoBrain returns a clean "provider not configured" message instead of live data — so a self-hosted instance degrades gracefully and is never misled by stale or fabricated results.
AutoBrain resolves all Australian states and territories (NSW, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania, Northern Territory and ACT) through a single search — no need to know which state the car is registered in.
AutoBrain's built-in rego lookup
AutoBrain's rego lookup is a paid data feature — included with paid plans and available to self-hosters who configure their own rego-data provider API key. Enter a plate number, get the vehicle's details (VIN, make, model and vehicle type). It's integrated into the vehicle management flow — when you add a car to your garage, AutoBrain can auto-fill the make, model and year from the rego lookup, saving you manual entry.
Once the vehicle is identified, AutoBrain also auto-suggests the parts that fit that exact make and model — tyres, filters, fluids and common service items — so your parts inventory starts populated instead of blank. Pick what you need and they're added to your garage in one tap.
For car clubs and fleet managers, the Community Garage feature lets members share vehicle profiles and flag vehicles with issues.
Frequently asked questions
How do I fill in a car's details with a rego lookup?
Enter the licence plate number and state into AutoBrain's rego lookup. It returns the VIN, make, model, year, body type and engine so you can add the car without typing a spec sheet by hand.
What information does a rego lookup return?
A rego lookup returns the vehicle's identification details: VIN, make, model, year, body type (vehicle type) and engine. It does not return registration status, expiry dates or encumbrances — it identifies the vehicle only.
Does AutoBrain's rego lookup check if a registration is valid?
No. AutoBrain's rego lookup only identifies the vehicle from its plate — it does not check whether the registration is current, suspended or cancelled, and it does not show encumbrances or expiry. Use the official state registry or the PPSR ($2) for that.
Is AutoBrain's rego lookup included in my plan?
Rego lookup is a paid data feature. It's included with AutoBrain's paid hosted plans and is not available on the free tier. Self-hosters enable it by configuring their own rego-data provider API key — no key means no live data, but everything else still works.
Does rego lookup suggest parts for my car?
Yes. After a rego lookup identifies your vehicle, AutoBrain auto-suggests the parts that fit that exact make and model — tyres, filters, fluids and common service items — which you can add straight to your parts inventory or a service record with one tap.
Which states does AutoBrain's rego lookup support?
AutoBrain supports rego lookups across all Australian states and territories: NSW, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania, Northern Territory and ACT.
Fill in any Australian vehicle's details with AutoBrain's rego lookup — included with paid plans, or bring your own rego-data provider API key when you self-host. Try the live demo or see hosted plans.