VIN assignment

Many manufacturers who make vehicles in small quantities (ie fewer than 500 per year) do not have the authority to issue VINs. These manufacturers must obtain a VIN for each vehicle they make from an entry certifier. The entry certifier then stamps the VIN directly on to a nominated structural part of the vehicle.

However, some low volume vehicle manufacturers do have the necessary authority to assign and affix a VIN, so will not have to go through this process. These VINs will all start with ‘7A9’, '6Y9', or '6Z9'.

1 Application for VIN assignment

A low volume vehicle manufacturer must complete a vehicle attributes worksheet, similar to the sheet used by entry certifiers. This describes the vehicle that is being (or will be) manufactured. This worksheet comprises two parts that describe the attributes required based on the vehicle type.

The vehicle attributes worksheet is submitted with an application for a VIN. If the vehicle is covered by the Low Volume Vehicle Code, the application must be endorsed by one of the organisations belonging to the Low Volume Vehicle Technical Association (LVVTA), which is responsible for checking that the vehicle is built in accordance with the requirements of the Low Volume Vehicle Code.

Particular care is required for the recording of make, model and year of manufacture attributes.

The completed and endorsed application must be presented to an entry certifier for the assignment of a VIN. If the vehicle attributes worksheet is not complete in any way, the application must be rejected.

Vehicle attributes must be entered into LANDATA as described in Pre-registration and VIN 3-1 and Pre-registration and VIN 3-2, with the exception of the ‘print MR2A checksheet’ field.

This field must be set to >Y< to print a VIN checksheet that is used to notify the vehicle manufacturer of the assigned VIN. It is not to be used as a registration document. The system will print an MR2A checksheet displaying:

• the vehicle details, and
• the VIN assigned to the vehicle, and
• the words ‘Affix this VIN to vehicle with chassis number XXXXXX’.

Attach the MR2A to one copy of the vehicle attributes worksheet and send it to the vehicle manufacturer.

Retain the other copy of the vehicle attributes worksheet for future reference. The documents should be filed so that they can be easily retrieved.