SAN ANTONIO — Nobody likes being pulled over by police while driving. In tonight's Verify, we learn how the authorities have access to a slew of information simply by looking up your license plate.
If you get pulled over, one of the first things an officer or deputy will do is run your license plate and they do it for several reasons. To identify the driver, look for outstanding violations, but a KENS5 viewer had a question about your insurance.
THE QUESTION
If you are pulled over by authorities while driving, can they look up the status of your insurance with your license plate?
THE SOURCES
- Lt. Kenneth Murray with the Bexar County Sheriff's Office
- Officer Nicholas Soliz with the San Antonio Police Department.
THE ANSWER
TRUE
WHAT WE FOUND
Soliz said San Antonio police will run a license plate for a number of reasons.
"They will run it for officer safety to make the sure the vehicle isn't stolen. They will run the plate to verify the owner and the registration. They will run the plate to verify it matches the make and model of the vehicle," said Soliz.
Lt. Murray said when they run a plate they could get several responses from their system, with insurance included.
"If you run fleet vehicles you will get Unconfirmed, verify manually. It is based on the information you provide to DPS when you get, renew your registration. If the insurance expires you get the Unconfirmed, verify manually," said Murray.
So yes, it is true. If you are pulled over by authorities while driving, they can look up the status of your insurance with your license plate.
Soliz also told us that drivers are still required to show proof of insurance either in a paper copy or on their phone, and although insurance proof does come up when officers run a license plate, it is not always up to date and accurate.