The certification label
49 CFR 567.4 requires the manufacturer to affix a label, and it is specific about where and how:
| Where | “either the hinge pillar, door-latch post, or the door edge that meets the door-latch post, next to the driver’s seating position”, or an alternative approved location. |
| How | “The label shall be riveted or permanently affixed in such a manner that it cannot be removed without destroying or defacing it.” |
| GVWR | “Gross Vehicle Weight Rating” or “GVWR” followed by the appropriate value in pounds. |
| GAWR | “Gross Axle Weight Rating” or “GAWR”, followed by the appropriate value in pounds, for each axle, identified in order from front to rear. |
| And also | The manufacturer’s name, the month and year of manufacture, the conformance statement, the vehicle identification number and the vehicle type classification. Block capitals, at least 3/32 inch high, in a colour contrasting with the label. |
That label is where the answer to the odometer question comes from. The exemption in 49 CFR 580.17(a)(1) is written against GVWR “as defined in § 571.3”, and § 571.3 defines it as “the value specified by the manufacturer as the loaded weight of a single vehicle”. It is the manufacturer’s stated rating, not what the truck weighs today. The 16,000 lb exemption →
49 CFR 567.4 · 49 CFR 571.3.
The VIN
- Seventeen characters“Each VIN shall consist of seventeen (17) characters.”
- Unique for sixty years“The VINs of any two vehicles subject to the Federal motor vehicle safety standards and manufactured within a 60-year period beginning with the 1980 model year shall not be identical.”
- PermanentIt “shall appear clearly and indelibly upon either a part of the vehicle, other than the glazing, that is not designed to be removed except for repair or upon a separate plate or label that is permanently affixed to such a part”.
- And it is structuredPositions 1–3 identify the manufacturer and type; 4–8 the vehicle attributes; position 9 is the check digit; 10–17 carry the model year, the plant and the sequential production number.
The check digit is why a mistyped VIN on a title application usually fails rather than quietly creating a record against the wrong truck.
49 CFR 565.13 · 49 CFR 565.15.
When the label is gone
A missing or destroyed serial plate is a state-level problem with a state-level form behind it — Georgia, for instance, has one specifically for it in the bonded title packet. Georgia title bond →
There is also a VIN decoder on this site: Truck VIN Decoder →
Current as of 14 September 2026. This page describes rules, not your situation, and it is information rather than legal advice. Rules change; the linked official source is always the current one.