VIN trailer terms and conditions

If you manufacture four or less trailers in a 12-month period you will need to apply to the Commonwealth Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications and Arts (DITRDCA) for a concessional RAV entry approval for each trailer. Your trailer will be issued with a VIN by DITRDCA when your application is approved.

If you are a trailer manufacturer building more than 500 trailers in a 12-month period, you will need to contact National Exchange of Vehicle and Driver Information System (NEVDIS) to get your VINs.

Department of Transport and Planning will issue a maximum of 500 VINs to a trailer manufacturer in a 12-month period. 

Use of trailer VINs issued by Department of Transport and Planning

New trailer VINs are intended for manufacturers in the business of constructing new trailers. Severe penalties apply under the Road Safety Act 1986 and the Road Safety (Vehicles) Regulations 2021 if a person alters, defaces, removes, substitutes or tampers with an existing vehicle identification number.

Second-hand parts or accessories may be used to construct a trailer body. You must adhere to the design and construction standards and technical requirements detailed in VSB1.

The entire chassis or any part of a chassis with its vehicle identifier recorded on an interstate Written Off Vehicles Register as a statutory write-off, cannot be used to build or repair a trailer. A trailer chassis can be constructed from second-hand parts or components provided they are not sourced from a statutory write-off vehicle.

If Department of Transport and Planning identifies any of these activities, the relevant VINs issued by Department of transport and planning will be cancelled and the trailers will not be eligible for registration in Victoria. Any evidence indicating interference with an existing VIN will be referred to Victoria Police.

Department of Transport and Planning may conduct field audits of a trailer manufacturing company applying for trailer VINs. These audits will be conducted to ensure that VIN allocation and record keeping procedures are maintained. 

VIN stamping

A VIN must be stamped, embossed or otherwise permanently marked on a substantial part of a trailer's frame or chassis (eg. drawbar).

Manufacturer errors or duplicate VINs

A trailer VIN describing a particular trailer type must not be allocated to a different trailer type. Department of Transport and Planning may refuse registration where it is identified that the incorrect type of VIN is assigned to a trailer. For example, a ‘box trailer’ VIN must not be allocated to a caravan.

When a manufacturer has made an error, or a VIN is duplicated on more than one trailer, the customer will be referred back to the manufacturer. When a consistent pattern of poor quality control is evident, Department of Transport and Planning may refuse to issue any further VINs to a manufacturer.

Quantity

If you are a business or company building trailers, you may request up to 500 trailer VINs in a 12-month period. Trailer VINs are restricted to 50 VINs per application.

If you estimate that you will require more than 500 VINs in a 12-month period, you need to contact the National Vehicle Identification Coordinator at the NEVDIS Administration Unit to request VINs.

Email: [email protected]

Tel: 02 8265 3350.

Imported trailers

A trailer VIN issued by Department of Transport and Planning must not be assigned to a trailer manufactured overseas.

For information regarding obtaining a VIN for an imported trailer please refer to: Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications. 

Non-standard trailers

A light trailer VIN must not be assigned to a trailer that does not meet the requirements of Vehicle Standards Bulletin 1 (VSB1) version 6, is non-compliant or over dimensional.

Non-standard trailers will be reported directly to the Department of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development and Communication and the Arts. It is an offence to supply a vehicle to the market that does not meet the Road Vehicle Standards Act 2018

Interstate VIN requests

A trailer VIN will not be issued to a manufacturer based interstate. If you reside interstate, you must contact the registration authority in your jurisdiction. 

Rejecting applications

Department of Transport and Planning reserves the right to reject an application if incorrect, false or misleading information is provided.

Department of Transport and Planning will refuse to issue:

• a VIN if a trailer manufacturer does not have a vehicle type approval under the Road Vehicle Standards legislation and
• more than 500 VINs to a manufacturer in a 12-month period.

Privacy information

Personal information collected by R&L Services Victoria Pty Ltd ABN 28 657 005 493 as Trustee for the Victorian R&L Services Trust ABN 96 342 123 072 or the Department of Transport and Planning (together ‘VicRoads’) is collected for registration and licensing purposes and may be used by Department of Transport and Planning as permitted or required by applicable laws. Department of Transport and Planning may disclose the personal information it collects from you to various organisations and persons as permitted or required by applicable laws, particularly by the Road Safety Act 1986. This includes disclosing the information to third parties including contractors and agents of Department of Transport and Planning, law enforcement agencies, other road and traffic authorities, Austroads, the Transport Accident Commission, vehicle manufacturers (for safety recalls), toll road operators, road safety researchers, courts and other organisations or people authorised to use the personal information. 

You are required to provide this personal information. Your failure to provide the information may result in this form not being processed, or your records not being properly maintained. For further information about our use of your personal information and your right of access to it, go to: dtp.vic.gov.au/privacy.

Providing false or misleading information or documents is a serious offence under the Road Safety Act 1986 and Marine Safety Act 2010, as applicable, and can result in you being fined or imprisoned. Further, any authority or approval, given as a result of you providing such information/documents, may be reversed and have no effect.