General Information - License Plate Reader (LPQ/LPR)
License Plate Reader Transactions (LPQ/LPR)
Overview
The purpose of the National License Plate Reader (LPR) Sharing Program is to create a consolidated LPR Pointer Index across the US to search and locate LPR data. This will enable the Nlets authorized user community to determine if any other contributing law enforcement agency has captured a vehicle's license plate of interest. This solution will not only enhance law enforcement investigative capabilities, but also address homeland security vulnerabilities, particularly in regards to first responders.
The initial source of LPR data for the Nlets national pointer system will be states and/or federal agencies that maintain their own LPR repositories. A subset of the base LPR data (called meta data) will be extracted from these repositories and sent to Nlets for hosting in the national database. After the initial load, meta data will continue to be sent to Nlets as new LPR read events are captured. This will keep the national pointer system up-to-date with the latest information. Law Enforcement agencies, in states that have implemented the LPQ/LPR message keys, will then be able to query and obtain information about license plate read events stored in the national pointer system. To obtain detailed information about an LPR read event, will require two sets of LPQ/LPR message queries/responses. The first query will be sent to Nlets to search the meta-data database and return a set of possible matches. This set will provide the information necessary to issue a second query to the state's or federal agency's repository that will retrieve detailed information about the LPR read event.
The benefits in using a national pointer system for LPR are:
- Share LPR information across jurisdictions nationwide
- Enable law enforcement to more effectively distribute LPR information
- Provide a cost effective solution for managing and sharing LPR data
As stated above, the LPQ and LPR message keys will support two different data exchanges. The first LPQ will be sent to Nlets to query the National LPR Pointer system where participating states have supplied Nlets with searchable LPR meta-data. This is known as the initial LPQ. The response (LPR) generated from this query will have a list of possible matches that match the search criteria including the unique data capture event number and the location where the image and additional information is held.
The second LPQ is sent directly to the State housing the detailed LPR data and uses the unique event number to access additional information associated with the specific data capture event. This is known as the LPR Detail Query. The detail response (the second LPR) will contain information about the data capture event including the LPR image if requested. Note: An LPQ will need to be generated for each possible match from the list. If there are five possible matches, then five LPQs will need to be generated.
XML and Legacy Field Requirements
XML Tag:
Legacy
Prefix:
Field
Size:
Data
Requirements:
Translation:
<nlets-lpr:LicensePlateReadListQuery>
<nc:ConveyanceRegistrationPlateIdentification>
<nc:IdentificationID>
Number
<nlets-lpr:LicensePlateQueryMetadata>
<nlets-lpr:ReasonCode>
N, F, V,
T, S or H.
Identify reason code:
N - Narcotics
F - Fraud (includes
counterfeit documents)
V - Violent crimes
(incl. robbery, murder,
rape, bombing, etc.)
T - Traffic violations
S - Theft
H - Humanitarian
<nlets-lpr:LicensePlateQueryMetadata>
<nlets-lpr:CaseIdentification>
<nc:IdentificationID>
Identifier
Optional Elements:
<nc:LocationAddress>
<nc:StructuredAddress>
<nc:LocationStateNCICLSTACode>
Characters
State
Code
<nlets-lpr:LPRQueryDateRange>
<nc:StartDate>
<nc:DateTime />
</nc:StartDate>
Date
<nlets-lpr:LPRQueryDateRange>
<nc:EndDate>
<nc:DateTime />
</nc:EndDate>
Date
<nlets-lpr:LooseMatchIndicator>
Values:
1, YES, TRUE
0, NO, FALSE
Loose Match
on misread characters
<nlets-lpr:MaximumRecordsNumeric>
of Records Requested
Or
<nlets-lpr:LicensePlateReadDetailQuery>
<nlets-lpr:LicensePlateRead>
<nc:ActivityIdentification>
<nc:IdentificationID>
<nc:ActivityDate>
<nc:DateTime>
<nlets-lpr:BinaryRequestIndicator>
Characters
Image Tag
Help File
A help file of frequently asked questions can be obtained by sending an Administrative Message to NLLPRHELP.
NVS LPR Overview
National Vehicle Service (NVS) working with Locator Technologies, has partnered with an additional LPR company (PRA) to provide Law Enforcement Agencies (LEA) access to a Central Repository of LPR data from private mobile and stationary LPR machines. The companies collecting these reads include towing and repossession companies, parking lots, garages, and toll way systems. LEAs may utilize this information at no cost to augment and/or initiate criminal investigations.
The National Vehicle Service (NVS) also supports the Nlets 'RQ' message key to query their LPR database. Nlets users, in addition to being able to query the CBP Border Crossing LPR database via destination 'NA', can now also send 'RQ's to destination 'VS' to query NVS's database containing nearly 900 million LPR reads with 30 million being added per month by two data Partners.
In addition to allowing LEAs access to the database, NVS proactively searches the database against the stolen vehicle file provided by the FBI. Knowing the location of a stolen vehicle prior to or shortly after its theft will greatly enhance LEA's capabilities.
To utilize this functionality, enter VS in the State Field of the 'RQ' function, as well as the plate number and license year (standard Nlets 'RQ' query). A positive response to your query will be similar to the following sample:
RR.VANVS005V
08:59 03/29/2010 44914
08:59 03/29/2010 00604 VANVS006V
*JSPI00MX00
TXT
Vehicle license plate number 619WCX was captured by mobile license plate recognition on March 21, 2012
at 123 W Forest Brook Dr Casselberry, FL.
** CAVEAT **
This is lead information ONLY to assist with your investigation and should NOT be used for non-law
enforcement purposes. Should you require additional assistance with this RESPONSE, please contact
National Vehicle Service at 866-687-1102.
Help File
A help file for NVS can be obtained by sending an Administrative Message to VSADMHELP.
CBP LPR Overview
License Plate Readers (LPR's) were initially installed by the United States Custom and Border Protection (CBP) to develop and track movement of vehicles as they crossed through the ports of entry along the southwest border between the United States and Mexico and the northern border between the United States and Canada. One of the benefits of the LPR is their effectiveness relating to vehicle theft initiatives regarding stolen vehicles entering and exiting the United States. Because of their benefits of providing investigative information regarding stolen vehicles, CBP agreed to provide NICB the raw LPR data as a tool in its efforts to prevent and investigate vehicle theft and insurance fraud.
The NICB in cooperation with the United States Custom and Border Protection and the International Justice and Public Safety Information Sharing Network (Nlets), has added an RQ transaction which will provide the capability to initiate a LIC query to NICB against the LPR file.
An RQ transaction is sent with the license plate of interest to destination NA as the state designator for NICB.
The RQ does allow for a 10 character license plate, but the LPR records only
captures 8 characters. Therefore, if a 9 or 10 RQ is received, a search will
be conducted only on the first 8 characters.
NICB will respond with a RR message consisting of the following information:
NICB RESPONSE FOR LIC/FT20688 MSG 001 OF 001
CROSSING LOCATION: INBOUND
ADDRESS: USCS-107 INTERSTATE SOUTH
CITY: DERBY LINE:INTERSTATE STATE: VT ZIP: 05830
CROSSING DT/TIME: 09/30/2002 14.31.29
LIC PLATE: FT20688 STATE: PQ COUNTRY: C
** NOTICE **
THE NICB PROVIDES THE INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN SOLELY
AS AN INVESTIGATORY AID. SINCE THESE RECORDS ARE NOT
VALIDATED, THE NICB DOES NOT GUARANTEE OR WARRANT THEIR
LEGITIMACY. PLEASE USE SECONDARY VERIFICATION BEFORE YOU
TAKE ANY ENFORCEMENT ACTION.
The following fields are included in the LPR response:
Address of the Crossing Location:
Inbound/Outbound Indicator
Crossing Date/Time: (Military time will be displayed in hour/minute/second format)
LIC Plate #:
LIC State:
Country Code:
Not all borders crossings contain readers. The borders that do have readers are based on priorities established by CPB. Not all 50 state plates are recognized by the readers. The LPR software is programmed to read plates from the states that represent the largest percentage of crossings at a specific location. Some of the readers are programmed to read plates from Mexico and Canada. LPR data in maintained for 12 months. At the 13th month, the 1st month's data is dropped from the file.
If a query gets multiple hits. The RR message will contain 7 LPR hits. If there are more that 7 hits, you will receive multiple messages stating "message 1 of ?" There is no limit on the number of hits that may possibly be received.
LPR from NICB & NVS
If a user would like to receive information from NICB and NVS from a single Vehicle Registration transaction (RQ), then a destination of LP should be used instead of NA or VS.