Interpretation ID: nht71-5.8

DATE: 11/26/71

FROM: AUTHOR UNAVAILABLE; Douglas W. Toms; NHTSA

TO: American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators

TITLE: FMVSR INTERPRETATION

TEXT: Thank you for your letter of November 9, 1971, in which you expressed concern over the requirement in our Certification regulations (36 F.R. 19593, October 8, 1971) that all vehicles, including those manufactured in two or more stages, have a vehicle identification number on their certification label.

You stated that your major concern was that the manufacturers would be "confused", and "would further add to the problems of vehicle identification experienced by the Motor Vehicle Administrators." Your letter did not, however, specify how or why our regulations would "add to the problems." With reference to a telephone conversation of November 4 with Mr. Dyson of our Chief Counsel's Office, you declined a request that you supply specific suggestions for modification of the regulation, on grounds that "this could be ultimately viewed as presumptive on our part."

I would like to clarify some points concerning this requirement. The requirement of placing a vehicle identification number on each certification label has existed since our first Certification regulations went into effect on September 1, 1969, and the amended regulations that become effective January 1, 1972 (to which you refer) contain no change whatever in that requirement. The reason why the VIN came to your attention as a separate proposal was that our March 17, 1970 notice, in which we proposed changes in the way we regulate multistage vehicles, had omitted the requirement, largely through oversight. The legal requirements for public notice required us to issue a notice of proposed rulemaking, in order to retain the VIN on the labels, where it has been since September 1969.

We have not attempted in this motor vehicle safety regulation to regulate the form of the vehicle identification numbers on vehicles other than passenger cars. We have, in effect, left the situation exactly as it has been since September 1, 1969, when the Certification regulations first went into effect: we require that each vehicle have on its permanent label a "vehicle identification number." We chose then (as we have since) to leave the form of the number to the manufacturer, in the first instance, subject to whatever State regulations might be in force, and in accordance with whatever guidelines he might choose to follow. While this policy has not solved the problems of the motor vehicle administrators, it is not at all clear to us how it could have added to them.

As you know, we are working closely with State officials on the problem of standardizing vehicle identification numbers, in connection with our highway safety program standard on motor vehicle registration. We would like very much to have your ideas on how we can deal with these problems through our Traffic Safety Programs.