Vehicle identification number

What it means

A vehicle identification number is a fixed-length code assigned when a vehicle is built. It appears on the title, on the dashboard where the windscreen meets it, and usually inside the driver's door frame.

It is how a motor vehicle agency identifies the vehicle. A single wrong character on a form is a rejection, not a correction.

It is also what a title history or lien search is run against.

Why it matters

The number on the title and the number on the vehicle have to agree. Where they do not — a typographical error made years ago — the correction is its own procedure.

It is also the thing to record before a vehicle is towed, sold or moved, because it is far harder to obtain afterwards.

When you are likely to meet it

• When completing a title transfer after a death.
• When checking whether a lien is recorded.
• When a form is rejected for a mismatch.

Related terms

• Bill of saleA written record that ownership of something passed from one person to another, with the date, the parties and the price.
• Branded titleA permanent mark on a title recording that the vehicle was once written off or badly damaged.
• Certificate of titleThe state-issued document that proves who owns a vehicle — and whose issuing state decides the procedure after a death.
• Duplicate titleA replacement certificate of title, issued when the original is lost, destroyed or was never received.
• LienA recorded claim against property, securing a debt, that has to be dealt with before the property can be transferred cleanly.
• Motor vehicle agencyThe state office that issues titles and registrations. It goes by a different name and a different set of initials in almost every state.
• Odometer disclosureA statement of a vehicle's mileage at the moment of transfer, required by federal law for most transfers.
• RetitlePutting an asset into a new owner's name on the official record.
• Salvage titleA title branded to record that a vehicle was declared a total loss. The brand stays with the vehicle permanently.
• Title applicationThe form that asks a state to issue a certificate of title in a new name. It is the central document in almost every vehicle transfer.
• Title jumpingSelling a vehicle on a title signed by somebody else without ever putting it in your own name. It is illegal everywhere.
• Title searchA check of the public record for what is registered against a property or a vehicle — owners, liens, brands, claims.
• VIN inspectionA physical check that the vehicle's identification number matches its paperwork.

Sahvelo guidance that uses this

• Vehicle title transfer