If a driver has failed to stop after a collision, the first step is to report it to the police. If anyone is injured, call 999. Otherwise, report the incident on 101 or through your local force. The police have powers that a private service does not have, and they can check the vehicle's keeper through DVLA records, and a police reference will be central to any later claim.
We act only after that report has been made. Our role is limited: where you hold a registration number and have a lawful reason, we can screen a request to identify the vehicle's registered keeper from its number plate. The DVLA also releases keeper details to individuals after an accident, where reasonable cause is shown, and our approach follows the same principle. The DVLA's published examples include finding out who was responsible for an accident.
What a trace can and cannot tell you
A trace identifies the registered keeper of the vehicle on the date of the incident. The keeper is not necessarily the owner of the car, and it does not identify the driver. The keeper may be the driver, a family member, an employee, a person who borrowed the car or a person who had sold it. The vehicle may also have been stolen or have carried cloned plates. For these reasons, you should not assume that the keeper was the person who was driving, and you must not accuse them on the strength of a trace alone.
What we need from you
- the police reference number, which we will ask for in every hit-and-run case;
- the date, time and place of the collision;
- the registration number, make, model and colour of the other vehicle, and how you came to know the registration;
- details of the damage or injury and any claim that has been opened;
- your insurer's claim number, if any.
What happens next
A member of our team reads your reason for the search and the evidence. If the request passes screening, we confirm the fee in writing and carry out the trace. We then check the result and, if it can be supported, release it to you, in writing and with conditions on use.
Those conditions include a requirement that the information is used only to pursue the claim, for example by passing it to your insurer or solicitor, and not to approach or confront the keeper personally. We may decline a request where we think the information would be used for that purpose.
Other routes you should consider
- The police. They can pursue the driver and can obtain keeper details directly.
- Your insurer. After any accident, tell your insurer promptly. If the other driver cannot be traced, your insurance policy may respond, and the Motor Insurers' Bureau operates schemes for losses caused by untraced drivers.
- The DVLA. An individual may apply to the DVLA on form V888 where there is reasonable cause.
- A solicitor. Where injury is involved, a solicitor can advise on a claim and can instruct us where keeper details are needed.
What we will not do
We do not trace the driver of a vehicle for revenge or confrontation. We do not trace a person after a road-rage incident that has no claim attached to it. We do not act where the police reference or the evidence does not support the account given.
Why we ask for the police reference
A police reference shows that the incident has been reported to the authority that can investigate it. It also protects the person traced. A keeper who is contacted about an incident has a right to expect that the matter is genuine and has been reported. Without a reference, we are unlikely to accept a request.
Using the result properly
The usual and sensible course is to give the keeper's details to your insurer or solicitor and let them make contact. If you choose to write, keep to the facts, refer to the police reference and do not make accusations. If the keeper tells you that someone else was driving, that is information for the police and your insurer. Contacting the keeper repeatedly, visiting their home or posting about them online may be harassment, and we may report misuse.
Common questions
Can you tell me who was driving? No. We identify the registered keeper, not the driver.
What if the police have closed the case? You can still ask us to consider a request, particularly where you have a civil claim. We will ask for the reference and for details of the claim.
Will the keeper be told that I asked? Data protection law may require us to tell the keeper that we have processed their details, unless an exception applies. See our privacy notice.
Have a lawful reason to identify a registered keeper?
Tell us what has happened and why you need the information. We will reply within 24 hours.
Request a trace