Home driveways
Log every car that comes up the drive, and get an alert for one you do not know.
LPR at home →
LPR · Guide
License plate recognition, explained.
How cameras read number plates, what it takes to get reliable reads, and how to run LPR on your own cameras for free.
Free LPR software · one camera free for life · plate recognition included · about 100 MB
Works withWindows 10 & 11ONVIF camerasHikvisionDahuaReolinkAxisNvidia GPU
LPR · In one sentence
A camera, some software, and a line of text.
License plate recognition (LPR) — also called ANPR or ALPR — is technology that takes a picture of a vehicle, finds the number plate in it, and converts the characters into text a computer can search, compare and act on.
The idea is simple. Doing it reliably, on a moving car, at night, in the rain, at an angle, across dozens of plate designs, is what makes it clever. Modern software does it in a fraction of a second on an ordinary IP camera and a Windows PC.
LPR · Uses
Uses for license plate recognition software.
From police cars to a single driveway — the same technology, at very different scales.
Parking and gates
Open the barrier for known plates — no remotes, no tickets, no one in the booth.
LPR for parking →
Roads and policing
Scan thousands of plates an hour and check each against a list in milliseconds.
LPR vs ANPR →
Businesses
Know which vehicles visit, when, and how often — alongside normal video surveillance.
Surveillance + LPR →
Free · Not a trial
Free LPR software — inside a complete free surveillance system.
Most "free" plate recognition is a 30-day trial or a per-plate quota. VISEC's free license is the whole program on one camera, for life: live view, motion recording, email alerts and plate recognition together. Free surveillance software →
No time limitfree for life, not 30 days
No per-plate feeread as many as pass
No cloudlogs stay on your PC
Your cameras99% of ONVIF cameras
LPR · What you need
You probably already own most of it.
- An IP camera aimed so the plate fills enough of the picture — a normal ONVIF camera works. Hardware guide.
- The right settings — a fast shutter and infrared at night. Camera setup guide.
- A Windows PC running LPR software. A graphics card speeds it up; it is not essential.
- Software — which does not have to cost anything. Free LPR software.
LPR · Why it matters
Why ANPR speed matters.
Imagine a child is taken, and a witness remembers only a partial plate. As the car joins the motorway, a roadside camera reads its plate and checks it against an alert list — such as an AMBER Alert in the United States — in milliseconds. What would take people hours happens before the car reaches the next junction.
The same speed is why a car park can open its barrier as you arrive, and why a homeowner can get a message the moment an unfamiliar car pulls onto the drive.
LPR · Quick answers
Common questions.
What does LPR stand for?
License plate recognition. It is also called ANPR (automatic number plate recognition) and ALPR (automated license plate recognition) — all three mean the same thing.
Is there free license plate recognition software?
Yes. VISEC for Windows includes plate recognition in its free one-camera license, for life, with no per-plate fee. More on free LPR software.
Do I need a special LPR camera?
Not usually. A standard IP camera reads plates well if it is aimed correctly and set to a fast shutter. Dedicated LPR cameras help at high speed and in very dark conditions.
How accurate is it?
With a well-placed camera, modern software reads the large majority of plates correctly. Most errors come from angle, motion blur, glare or dirty plates rather than the software. Accuracy explained.