What is the "confidential vehicle identification" number?
What cars bear that and where is it located?
Motor Vehicle Maintenance & Repair Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for mechanics and DIY enthusiast owners of cars, trucks, and motorcycles. It only takes a minute to sign up.
Sign up to join this communityWhat is the "confidential vehicle identification" number?
What cars bear that and where is it located?
I found some excellent information on Confidential VIN, as follows...
Hidden or Confidential VIN
VINs have been stamped into frames of vehicles for many years, however the process became more uniform starting approximately during the 1968 model year. The VIN was stamped into various metal objects on the vehicle, including the frame, the body, the engine, transmission and other places. The VIN on the frame or the body became known as the Hidden VIN, the Confidential VIN or the Federal VIN. This number is usually not a full, complete VIN but a derivative thereof. The sequential production number of the hidden VIN should match the sequential production number (the last five or six digits) of the Public VIN and if the vehicle was produced after August 31, 1969, the FMVSS certification sticker. The VIN on the engine and transmission would have also been a derivative of the VIN and it too should match the Public VIN provided that the engine and/or transmission is original.
Full article here
A confidential vehicle identification is just a VIN in a hidden place that is only known by the manufacturer and law enforcement. It is used to thwart car cloning.
Examples of this would be a VIN stamped into the wheel arch liner, ashtray, on the floor under the spare tyre , etc - i.e. a non-obvious location.