Legacy Text Examples - Vehicle Registration Transactions (RQ/RR, RQG, RNQ/RNR, RPQ/RPR)

Vehicle Registration Legacy Specifications

This section provides Legacy format and examples for:

Vehicle Registration Query by License Plate/Year/Type, or VIN to a state (RQ), and the corresponding Vehicle Registration Response (RR)
Vehicle Registration Query by License Plate/Year/Type, or VIN to a region (RQG).
Vehicle Registration Partial Plate Query by License Plate/Year/Type to a state (RPQ), and the corresponding Vehicle Registration Partial Plate Response (RPR)
An alternative Vehicle Registration Query is by name (RNQ) with the corresponding Vehicle Registration Response (RNR).
Canadian vehicle registration queries are described in "Communicating with Canada".
Mexican vehicle registration queries are described in "Communicating with Mexico".

Formats for Vehicle Registration queries and responses are described in the sections that follow.

Query Formats

All inquiries and responses are in a fixed format.
All messages are preceded by a standard input header.
If a regional code is used, the message type should be RQG. If it is not, Nlets will change it to RQG and handle it at a lower priority.
States receiving an RQG will respond with an RR.

To send a vehicle registration query, enter the following:

RQ. or RPQ. or RQG.
Sending ORI followed by a period.
Destination ORI followed by a period (up to 5 2-character state codes or regional codes - RPQ does not support region codes).
If needed, optional control field.
TXT
Carriage return, line feed, delete control character (optional).
Reason Code (optional).
Enter either:
1. "LIC/" followed by license plate number (string) and a period.
2. "LIY/" followed by year of current license or NX (non-expiring) and a period.
3. "LIT/" followed by license type.
OR-
1. "VIN/" followed by vehicle information number (and a period if VMA or VYR is present).
2. "VMA/" followed by vehicle make and a period (required only for MO).
3. "VYR/" followed by vehicle year of manufacture (required only for MO).

NOTES:

No imbedded spaces and no special characters (i.e. hyphens) should be in the inquiry.
All data elements (i.e. license or vehicle ID number) are preceded by a prefix and terminated by a period. The final character should not be a period (this conforms to NCIC message structure).
Control characters are permitted throughout the text of the message and should be ignored by the queried state when examining the inquiry.
Nlets provides access to the Department of State Diplomatic License file. Queries are formatted exactly the same as for a state except the 2-character code used is "US".
The RPQ message key does not support query by VIN.

The format for vehicle registration query on a license number is:

Entry # Char. Explanation RQ. or RPQ. or RQG. 2-3 Message type followed by a period. Message Header 13-36 Standard input message header may include control field and up to 5 addresses (state or regional codes). TXT 3 Fixed filed prefix to beginning of message. CR,LF,DEL 3 Control characters (optional). RSN/ 1 Prefix to identify a Reason Code. Reason Code (Optional) 1 Reason Code; Valid values are: N, F, V, T, S, H or I. LIC/ 4 Prefix to identify license plate. License number 1-10 License number, followed by a period. The RPQ will use one or more wildcard characters. LIY/ 4 Prefix to identify license year. License year 2-4 License year followed by a period; 2-4 numeric digits designating year of current license or NX, for non-expiring. LIT/ 2 Prefix to identify license type. License type 2 License type; 2 character designating type of license.

The format for a vehicle registration query on vehicle identification number is:

Entry # Char. Explanation RQ. or RQG. 2-3 Message type followed by a period. Message Header 13-36 Standard input message header may include control field and up to 5 addresses (state or regional codes). TXT 3 Fixed filed prefix to beginning of message. CR,LF,DEL 3 Control characters (optional). RSN/ 1 Prefix to identify a Reason Code. Reason Code (Optional) 1 Reason Code; Valid values are: N, F, V, T, S, H or I. VIN/ 4 Prefix to identify VIN. Vehicle ID # 1-20 Vehicle ID # followed by a period. VMA/ 4 Prefix to identify vehicle make. Vehicle make 2-4 Vehicle make followed by a period (optional). VYR/ 4 Prefix to identify vehicle year. Vehicle year 2-4 Vehicle year of manufacture.

The format for a vehicle registration query by name is presented below. Note that the message key is different then a normal vehicle registration query.

Entry # Char. Explanation RNQ. 3 Message type followed by a period Message Header 13-24 Standard input message header, may include control field but only a single 2 character state code TXT 3 Fixed filed prefix to beginning of message CR,LF,DEL 3 Control characters (optional) RSN/ 1 Prefix to identify a Reason Code. Reason Code (Optional) 1 Reason Code; Valid values are: N, F, V, T, S, H or I. NAM/ 4 Prefix to identify name Name Max. 30 This field must include at least a first and last name in the standard name format (surname, first name). Some states allow a question mark "?" in the surname if the full surname is not known. Consult state help files to determine if a state can support this capability. (E.g., NAM/PUBL?, JOHN Q.) DOB/ 4 Prefix to identify date of birth (optional) Date of Birth 6 or 8 This field, if used, must include the complete date of birth. AGE/ 4 Prefix to identify age (optional) AGE 2 If a complete date of birth is unknown some states support inquiries on age. Consult state vehicle registration HELP file for details. The address is xxLICHELP where xx=2 character state code.

Response Formats

Should the information be unavailable, a standard message is returned by the state.
If the inquiry was processed and there was no information on file, a standard "no record" message is returned. The format for each of these follows the positive response format.
If a data field presented in the format is unavailable, the prefix, data element, and period should be omitted from the response.
The message should be compacted to eliminate spaces resulting from missing or unavailable data elements. An example of this would be vehicle color. Some states do not have this information on their database.

All responses to RNQ inquiries must have a message type of "RNR" but otherwise are identical to RQ responses (RR). All responses to RPQ inquiries must have the message type of "RPR".

The only discriminators between RQ/RR and RQG examples are as follows:

The destination Agency ORI in a RQG must be a regional code.
The message type must indicate a region message by including "G".
The license plate in a RPQ must include one or more wildcard characters (? or %)

Vehicle Registration Legacy Examples

Example 1: A Vehicle Registration query by license plate, year and type.

RQ.AZNLETS20.CA.TXT
LIC/AAAAAA.LIY/2011.LIT/PC

Example 2: A Vehicle Registration query by VIN.

RQ.AZNLETS20.CA.TXT
VIN/AAAAA11A11A111111

Example 3: A Vehicle Registration query by license plate, year and type and optional Reason Code.

RQ.AZNLETS20.CA.TXT
RSN/T.LIC/AAAAAA.LIY/2011.LIT/PC

Example 4: A Vehicle Registration query by VIN and optional Reason Code.

RQ.AZNLETS20.CA.TXT
RSN/T.VIN/AAAAA11A11A111111

Example 5: A Vehicle Registration response.

RR.CALIC0000
09:12 10/06/2011 04364
09:12 10/06/2011 00438 AZNLETS20
TXT
DATE: 10/06/11 TIME: 09:12
IDENT: OFF HIGHWAY VEHICLE

LIC #: AAAAAA LAD:09/09/09
DATA REMOVED FROM AMIS - VEHICLE SUBPLATED TO XXXXXX
MORE

DATE: 10/06/11 TIME: 09:12
IDENT: OFF HIGHWAY VEHICLE
PNO VALID FROM: 06/14/10
REG VALID FROM: 06/30/08 TO 06/30/10
LIC#: XXXXXX YRMD:02 MAKE:YAMA BTM :TR VIN :AAAAA11A11A111111
R/O :JOHN SMITHPO BOX 1111 CITY:SAN BRUNO C.C.:30
ZIP#:99999
SOLD:00/00/02 RCID:11/06/08 OCID:02/10/02 LOCD:9 ENG#:A111A111111
PNO-REGISTRATION DEFERRED
11/06/08 PREV LIC AAAAAA

END

Example 6: A Vehicle Registration query by Region. The response will be a standard Vehicle Registration response (RR).

RQG.AZNLETS20.A1,B1,C1.TXT
VIN/AAAAA11A11A111111

Example 7: A Vehicle Registration query by name.

RNQ.AZNLETS20.AZ.TXT
NAM/SMITH, JOHN.DOB/19500101

Example 8: A Vehicle Registration query by Region and optional Reason Code. The response will be a standard Vehicle Registration response (RR).

RQG.AZNLETS20.A1,B1,C1.TXT
RSN/T.VIN/AAAAA11A11A111111

Example 9: A Vehicle Registration query by name and optional Reason Code.

RNQ.AZNLETS20.AZ.TXT
RSN/T.NAM/SMITH, JOHN.DOB/19500101

Example 10: A Vehicle Registration response by name.

RNR.AZLIC0000
13:51 10/26/2011 45282
13:51 10/26/2011 01948 AZNLETS20
TXT
NAM/SMITH,JOHN
RESPONSE FROM ARIZONA DMV REGISTRATION RECORDS PAGE 001
SMITH, JOHN 1234 ANY STREET PHOENIX AZ
LIC/1234567 LIY/2010 LIT/PC VYR/2005 VMA/STRN VMO/ION VST/4D VCO/WHI
END OF SEARCH

Example 11: A Vehicle Registration Partial Plate query by license plate, year and type.

RPQ.AZNLETS49.AZ.TXT
LIC/A%C1?3.LIY/2011.LIT/PC
Example 12: A Vehicle Registration Partial Plate response by License Partial Plate, year, and type

RPR.AZLIC0000

10:54 10/17/2025 00056

10:54 10/17/2025 00001 AZNLETS49

*RPREXAMPLE

TXT

QUERY DATA: LIC/A%C1?3.

*** REGISTRATION MATCHES ***

-------------------INDIVIDUAL MATCH--------------------

*** REGISTRATION DETAILS ***

REGISTRATION AUTHORITY NAME: UT

VEHICLE REGISTRATION EFFECTIVE DATE: 2001

VEHICLE REGISTRATION EXPIRATION DATE: 2001

REGISTRATION DUPLICATE QUANTITY: 0

*** REGISTRATION HOLDER DETAILS ***

REGISTERED TO: LAST1,GIVEN1 MIDDLE1

DATE OF BIRTH: 1957-08-13

GENDER: M

DRIVER LICENSE ID: OLN12345678

DRIVER LICENSE JURISDICTION: AZ

VEHICLE REGISTRATION PLATE ID: ABC123

VEHICLE REGISTRATION PLATE JURISDICTION: AZ

VEHICLE REGISTRATION PLATE TYPE: Plate Category

REGISTRATION STATUS STATUS : RegistrationStatus

REGISTRATION STATUS STATUS DESCRIPTION: RegistrationStatusDescription

REGISTRATION STATUS STATUS DATE: 1957-08-13

*** VEHICLE DETAILS ***

VEHICLE ID: VIN1234567890

VEHICLE JURISDICTION: AZ

VEHICLE MAKE CODE: TOYT

VEHICLE MODEL CODE: CRO

VEHICLE MODEL YEAR: 2001

VEHICLE PRIMARY COLOR: Red

VEHICLE SECONDARY COLOR: Green

-------------------INDIVIDUAL MATCH--------------------

*** REGISTRATION DETAILS ***

REGISTRATION AUTHORITY NAME: AZ

VEHICLE REGISTRATION EFFECTIVE DATE: 2011

VEHICLE REGISTRATION EXPIRATION DATE: 2011

REGISTRATION DUPLICATE QUANTITY: 0

*** REGISTRATION HOLDER DETAILS ***

REGISTERED TO: LAST2,GIVEN2 MIDDLE2

DATE OF BIRTH: 1957-08-13

GENDER: M

DRIVER LICENSE ID: OLN23456789

DRIVER LICENSE JURISDICTION: AZ

VEHICLE REGISTRATION PLATE ID: AXXC1X3

VEHICLE REGISTRATION PLATE JURISDICTION: AZ

VEHICLE REGISTRATION PLATE TYPE: Plate Category

REGISTRATION STATUS STATUS : RegistrationStatus

REGISTRATION STATUS STATUS DESCRIPTION: RegistrationStatusDescription

REGISTRATION STATUS STATUS DATE: 1957-08-13

*** VEHICLE DETAILS ***

VEHICLE ID: VIN2345678901

VEHICLE JURISDICTION: AZ

VEHICLE MAKE CODE: FORD

VEHICLE MODEL CODE: ESCAPE

VEHICLE MODEL YEAR: 2001

VEHICLE PRIMARY COLOR: BLK

VEHICLE SECONDARY COLOR: WHT

-------------------INDIVIDUAL MATCH--------------------

*** REGISTRATION DETAILS ***

REGISTRATION AUTHORITY NAME: AZ

VEHICLE REGISTRATION EFFECTIVE DATE: 2021

VEHICLE REGISTRATION EXPIRATION DATE: 2021

REGISTRATION DUPLICATE QUANTITY: 0

*** REGISTRATION HOLDER DETAILS ***

REGISTERED TO: LAST3,GIVEN3 MIDDLE3

DATE OF BIRTH: 1957-08-13

GENDER: M

DRIVER LICENSE ID: OLN34567890

DRIVER LICENSE JURISDICTION: AZ

VEHICLE REGISTRATION PLATE ID: AXXZC1K3

VEHICLE REGISTRATION PLATE JURISDICTION: AZ

VEHICLE REGISTRATION PLATE TYPE: Plate Category

REGISTRATION STATUS STATUS : RegistrationStatus

REGISTRATION STATUS STATUS DESCRIPTION: RegistrationStatusDescription

REGISTRATION STATUS STATUS DATE: 1957-08-13

*** VEHICLE DETAILS ***

VEHICLE ID: VIN3456789012

VEHICLE JURISDICTION: AZ

VEHICLE MAKE CODE: CHEV

VEHICLE MODEL CODE: BLAZER

VEHICLE MODEL YEAR: 2011

VEHICLE PRIMARY COLOR: BLU

VEHICLE SECONDARY COLOR: BLK