Where to find the VIN on a car, truck or motorcycle

What the rule requires

Under 49 CFR § 565.13(e), the VIN of each vehicle has to appear clearly and indelibly on a part of the vehicle, other than the glazing, that is not designed to be removed except for repair, or on a separate plate or label permanently fixed to such a part. The typeface must be capital, sans-serif characters, and every space has to be filled with a letter or digit from the permitted set.

Passenger cars, SUVs and light trucks

For passenger cars, multipurpose passenger vehicles, low-speed vehicles and trucks of 4,536 kg (10,000 lb) gross vehicle weight rating or less, § 565.13(f) puts the VIN inside the passenger compartment, where it must be readable without moving any part of the vehicle, through the glazing in daylight, by an observer with 20/20 vision standing outside next to the left windshield pillar. Each character must be at least 4 mm tall. In practice this is the plate at the base of the windshield on the driver’s side of the dashboard.

The certification label that manufacturers also have to attach, under 49 CFR § 567.4, repeats the VIN together with the gross vehicle weight rating and the date of manufacture. It is on the driver’s door edge or the adjacent pillar. Reading the dashboard plate from outside and the label from inside is a quick way to confirm both show the same number.

Other vehicles and other places

The windshield rule covers cars, multipurpose passenger vehicles, low-speed vehicles and trucks up to 4,536 kg. For motorcycles, trailers and heavier trucks the VIN is on a part of the vehicle or a plate that the manufacturer documents, so check the owner’s manual. Many manufacturers also stamp the number in other places, such as the engine bay or the frame, and the owner’s manual lists them for your model.

• Registration certificate and certificate of title.
• Insurance card or policy documents.
• Service records and the manufacturer’s app, where the vehicle is linked.
• Window sticker or bill of sale for a newer vehicle.

Copy it without mistakes

Most failed lookups are transcription errors. Read the characters aloud in groups of three or four, and remember that the letters I, O and Q are not used, so a character that looks like an O is a zero and one that looks like an I is a one. PlateVIN refuses to send a VIN with an illegal letter and shows which character is wrong.

If the VIN on the dashboard, the door label and the paperwork do not match, treat that as a reason to stop: the difference may be a clerical mistake, but it may also mean the vehicle or a part of it has been replaced or altered. Ask the seller or the registration office to explain it before you buy.

Federal rules also say that a vehicle altered by a third party keeps the VIN assigned by the original manufacturer, and imported vehicles keep the original manufacturer’s VIN, with a substitute label only where that VIN does not meet the US format.

Quellen

• 49 CFR § 565.13 General requirements (eCFR)
• 49 CFR § 567.4 Requirements for manufacturers of motor vehicles (eCFR)
• 49 CFR § 565.14 Motor vehicles imported into the United States (eCFR)