Confirming a Car’s True Identity

IBC helps police verify vehicle identification numbers (VINs) to ensure that recovered stolen cars get returned to their rightful owners more quickly, and that consumers can be confident about a car’s history before they buy.

Vehicle identification numbers (VINs)

All cars built for sale in North America since 1981 have a vehicle identification number (VIN) that consists of 17 letters and numbers. This is like the car’s fingerprint. A car’s VIN:

• is engraved on a metal plate on the driver’s side of the dashboard and in other places on the car;
• provides basic information about the car, including the make and model and where and when it was built;
• stays the same no matter how many times the car changes owners and license plate numbers;
• can be used to track the history of the car – e.g., whether it has been in any serious crashes or been stolen, and how many owners it has had;
• is used by insurance companies to set accurate premiums; and
• can help police find the rightful owner if the car is stolen.

VINs of stolen cars

Car thieves often try to hide the fact that a car is stolen by:

• removing the VIN plate;
• scratching out the VIN number;
• altering the VIN (e.g., turning a 3 into an 8);
• replacing the real VIN with a made-up one; or
• replacing the real VIN with a copy of another car’s VIN (sometimes called “cloning”).

IBC’s VIN programs

In Alberta and Ontario, IBC assists police in determining the real VINs of stolen cars that are recovered with missing or altered VINs. If IBC cannot determine the real VIN and identify the car, the Ministry of Transportation will assign the car a new VIN.

Once the real VIN has been identified or a new VIN assigned, IBC removes all false or old VINs from the car before installing a brass plate with the correct VIN on the driver-side door frame and placing a sticker with the correct VIN on the dashboard where the original VIN plate would be.

IBC can also:

• reproduce the original VIN on a car whose VIN has been lost or damaged for some other reason (e.g., the dashboard was replaced);
• create a new VIN for cars that are built from scratch or from kits, or assembled from parts of other cars; and
• create VINs for trailers (since April 2004, all trailers in Alberta require a standard VIN).