Be Part of the Ultimate Safety & Compliance Community
Trending news, knowledge-building content, and more – all personalized to you!
The Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) can be used to track recalls, thefts, insurance coverage, and registrations.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), an agency within the U.S. Department of Transportation, requires road vehicles to have a 17-character Vehicle Identification Number (VIN). The VIN system provides a unique number for every vehicle manufactured. The VIN is used to track recalls, thefts, insurance coverage, and registrations.
The Arabic numbers and Roman letters of a VIN each have a specific purpose:
Any two vehicles subject to the Federal motor vehicle safety standards and manufactured within a 60-year period may not have the same VIN.
The location of the VIN varies, but in later model years the most common places are on the drivers' door or post, the firewall, or the left instrumentation/dash plate by the window.