CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS TITLE 49
--TRANSPORTATION SUBTITLE B--
OTHER REGULATIONS RELATING TO TRANSPORTATION CHAPTER V
--NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION PART 565--
VEHICLE IDENTIFICATION NUMBER REQUIREMENTS
Current through March 7, 2000; 65 FR 11911
The VIN shall consist of four sections of characters which shall be grouped accordingly:
(a) The first section shall consist of three characters that occupy positions one through three (1-3) in the VIN. This section shall uniquely identify the manufacturer, make and type of the motor vehicle if its manufacturer produces 500 or more motor vehicles of its type annually. If the manufacturer produces less than 500 motor vehicles of its type annually, these characters along with the third, fourth and fifth characters of the fourth section shall uniquely identify the manufacturer, make and type of the motor vehicle. These characters are assigned in accordance with § 565.7(a).
(b) The second section shall consist of five characters, which occupy positions four through eight (4- in the VIN. This section shall uniquely identify the attributes of the vehicle as specified in Table I. For passenger cars, and for multipurpose passenger vehicles and trucks with a gross vehicle weight rating of 4536 kg. (10,000 lbs.) or less, the first and second characters shall be alphabetic and the third and fourth characters shall be numeric. The fifth character may be either alphabetic or numeric. The characters utilized and their placement within the section may be determined by the manufacturer, but the specified attributes must be decipherable with information supplied by the manufacturer in accordance with § 565.7(c). In submitting the required information to NHTSA relating to gross vehicle weight rating, the designations in Table II shall be used. The use of these designations within the VIN itself is not required. Tables I and II follow: