The Department of Transport and Main Roads has received a number of enquiries from both trailer manufacturers and interstate registration authorities regarding the stamping of Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) on light trailers.

Queensland has always required the VIN be stamped on the trailer, however for some time this requirement has not been fully enforced and a number of issues have arisen in relation to vehicle identification and refusal by other states and territories to transfer the registration of Queensland registered trailers.  To improve the identification of trailers and prevent problems for transferring registration, all trailers will require a VIN stamped as from 1 July 2010.

To allow manufacturers time to comply with this requirement Queensland will continue to register light trailers manufactured prior to 1 July 2010 that do not have the VIN stamped on the chassis.  Trailers manufactured after June 2010 will not be eligible for registration in Queensland unless the 17 digit VIN is stamped or etched into a substantial part of the trailer.  The VIN should be in characters at least 7mm high, legible, uniform and in one line with characters less than one character apart.

For further information regarding the marking of VINs on a vehicle, please refer to Australian Design Rule 61/..Vehicle Marking or contact the Vehicle Standards and Regulation unit on 07 3253 4851.