The checks
Where to find the VIN, and why it beats the number plate
5 min read
A plate can be swapped in a minute; the VIN cannot. Where to find it, how to read it, and what to do if the car has a chassis number instead.
Why the VIN is the real identifier
A registration number is an administrative label. It can be transferred, personalised, surrendered or simply screwed onto a different car in under a minute.
The Vehicle Identification Number is stamped or fixed to the vehicle itself. It is seventeen characters, assigned once, and unique to that car worldwide. Every register that matters (finance, write-offs, theft) is keyed to it.
That is why a check that starts from a plate resolves it to a VIN first, and why you should confirm the VIN yourself rather than accepting one from an advertisement.
Where to look
On most cars it appears in more than one place, and they should agree.
- The compliance plate, usually in the engine bay or on the driver's door frame.
- The lower corner of the windscreen on the driver's side, visible from outside.
- Stamped into the body, often on the firewall, floor, or under the front seat.
- On the registration papers and any service history.
Reading it without tripping over it
A VIN is seventeen characters of letters and digits, and it deliberately excludes the letters I, O and Q, which are too easily confused with 1 and 0. If you think you are reading one of those, you are reading a digit.
Take a photograph rather than transcribing it by hand. A single wrong character checks a different vehicle, or none at all.
Older and imported cars: the chassis number
Vehicles built before the VIN standard was adopted, and some imports, carry a manufacturer's chassis number instead. It is shorter, it does not follow the seventeen-character format, and it is not a defect.
A chassis number is a valid identifier and the registers search on it. If a car has one, use it. A check that refuses the vehicle is a limitation of the check, not a fact about the car.
Common questions
- Is the VIN the same as the engine number?
- No. The engine number identifies the engine, which can be replaced. The VIN identifies the vehicle and does not change.
- What if the VIN on the car does not match the papers?
- Stop. A mismatch is a serious warning sign and worth reporting rather than negotiating around.
Check the car you are looking at
Enter an Australian plate or 17-character VIN. Run an instant free identity check, then add the official register searches this guide is about.
