How to find a car's VIN

Where the VIN is on the car

• Compliance plate or build plate. A metal or sticker plate in the engine bay, on the firewall, or on the driver’s door pillar. Newer cars have a secure identification plate in the same places.
• Base of the windscreen. On most cars a small plate is visible from outside at the bottom of the windscreen on the driver’s side.
• Stamped into the body. Often on the chassis rail, the firewall or under the driver’s seat, depending on the make.

Where the VIN is on the paperwork

• The registration certificate, transfer form or registration renewal notice.
• The comprehensive insurance policy or a previous PPSR certificate.
• Your state road authority’s free registration check: enter the plate number and most states show the VIN along with the registration status and expiry.

Ask the seller for a clear photo of the compliance plate and the registration papers before you travel. A seller who will not share the VIN is a seller to avoid.

What a VIN looks like

A VIN has exactly 17 characters made up of capital letters and digits. It never contains the letters I, O or Q, because they look like 1 and 0. The first three characters identify the manufacturer and country of build, the middle section describes the model and body, and the last six are the serial number. On many makes the tenth character indicates the model year.

Cars built before 1989 may only have a chassis number instead of a VIN. VinClear searches by VIN only; a chassis number can be searched directly at ppsr.gov.au.

Mistakes that make a check come back empty

• Reading 0 as O, 1 as I, 5 as S or 8 as B. If a character looks like I, O or Q, it is a digit.
• Using the engine number, which is a different identifier stamped on the engine block.
• Copying the VIN from an online ad. Ads are typed by hand and are often wrong; use the plate or papers.
• Dropping a character. Count to 17 before you submit.

Check that the VIN matches the car

Compare the VIN on the compliance plate, the windscreen and the registration papers. Then compare the make, model, colour and engine number in the PPSR result with the car in front of you. Any mismatch means the car may have been rebirthed with another vehicle’s identity, and you should walk away.