CIRCULAR 0-3-2
IDENTIFICATION PLATES
General
1. Identification Plates are
fitted to vehicles to indicate that the Administrator has issued an approval
for vehicles of that type under Section 10A of the Motor Vehicle Standards Act
1989.
Identification Plates were
formerly known as Compliance Plates.
This Circular combines the
requirements of issue 10 of Circular 0-3-2, and Circular 0-3-8 dealing with the
use of adhesive labels for compliance plates; both of those superseded Circulars
are to be withdrawn.
Identification Plates are
either metal plates or adhesive labels, both of which contain information
relating to the description of the vehicle, its date of manufacture, its
vehicle identification number (VIN), the approval number allocated by the Administrator
and the vehicle category.
Only full volume new vehicle
manufacturers are able to use Identification Plates in the form of adhesive
labels.
2. There are also Plates that
may be affixed to vehicles with the approval of the Administrator which are not
Identification Plates in the context of clause 1; these include:
- plates for personally imported vehicles,
- plates for vehicles imported within the
Registered Automotive Workshop Scheme.
Requirements
3. The Identification Plate must
be affixed to the body of the vehicle in a position where it may be readily
examined.
The body part to which the
plate or label is affixed should not usually be subject to replacement in the
event of an accident; neither should the position of the plate or label on the
body part expose the plate or label itself to accident damage or disfigurement.
Commonly used locations for affixing the plate or label include the following :
-
For passenger
cars and bonneted trucks, the Identification Plate is generally positioned on
the panel separating the front compartment from the passenger compartment, on a
front suspension tower or on an engine compartment side deck.
-
For cab over
engine trucks, the Identification Plate is generally located in the passenger
compartment on the inner panel rearward of the driver’s or passenger’s door.
-
For forward
control passenger vehicles and vans, the Identification Plate is generally
positioned within the passenger compartment in the front passenger’s footwell
area.
-
For motor cycles and
mopeds, the Identification Plate is generally positioned on the steering head.
-
For trailers, the
Identification Plate is preferably positioned on the front vertical face of the
trailer (adjacent to the trailer brake line couplings if appropriate) or on an
inward facing vertical face of an A-frame draw bar where fitted.
4. The information required
on Identification Plates in the form of metal plates shall be embossed,
indented, etched or engraved so as to provide the information in relief.
The Administrator reserves
the use of certain colours for particular purposes; for example red for Identification
Plates for partially completed vehicles, green for low production vehicles,
blue for trailers and yellow for personally imported vehicles.
5. Identification Plates in
the form of metal plates must be affixed to the vehicle (in the position
specified by the vehicle manufacturer on the Application Form for
Identification Plate Approval) by either riveting, hammer drive screws or
welding. In the case of vehicle manufacturers permitted to produce their own Identification
Plates the Administrator may, on a case by case basis, approve the use of
adhesives for affixing of metal plates to vehicles.
6. Identification Plates in
the form of adhesive labels must meet the following :
(a) must be affixed to the vehicle in the
position specified by the vehicle manufacturer on the Application Form for
Identification Plate Approval.
(b) The label
must be designed to last the life of the motor vehicle in the position on the vehicle
to which it has been affixed.
(c) The label
must contain the VIN in readable text. A VIN barcode must be included in the label.
The format of the barcoding must be submitted to the Administrator when requested.
(d) The
manufacturer must replace any label found to be defective. A replacement
adhesive label or a letter of compliance may be provided where a lost or
accidentally damaged label can be proven.
(e) Removal of
the label must cause the label to self-destruct by tearing or rendering the
text on the label illegible.
(f) It is
desirable that the removal of the label must discernibly alter the appearance
of that
area of the part where the label was affixed by
leaving residual parts of the label or
adhesive in that area, so that investigators will have
evidence that a label was originally
present
(g) Alteration of the VIN on the label must leave
traces of the original VIN or otherwise
visibly alter the appearance of the label material.
(h) The label and the text must be resistant to counterfeiting.
(i) The logo or some other unique identifier of the
vehicle manufacturer must be placed in
the material of the label in a manner such that
alteration or removal of the logo visibly
alters the appearance of the label.
Note : Only full volume new vehicle manufacturers are
able to use Identification Plates in the form of adhesive labels.
7. Only Identification Plates which comply with the
requirements of this circular will be recognised by the State and Territory
registering authorities.
Layout and Formatting of Identification Plates
8. Drawings of Motor Vehicle Standards Act Identification
Plates showing information to be included by the manufacturer are at Attachment
1.
9. Variable information stamped on the Identification
Plate shall be of a minimum character height of 2.5 mm. The characters shall be
properly aligned. The VIN shall be shown on one line without blank spaces
between characters. Gross Vehicle Mass
(GVM) need not be shown on Identification Plates fitted to Passenger Cars,
Forward Control Passenger Vehicles, Off-road Passenger Vehicles, Motor Cycles
or Mopeds; however GVM is to be shown for all other categories (except for
trailers for which Aggregate Trailer Mass
(ATM) is to be shown).
10. From time to time the Administrator will announce
the details of authorised plate suppliers.
Approved Identification Plate metal blanks are
available from the Department of Transport and Regional Services (DOTARS)
authorised plate supplier. However full volume new vehicle manufacturers may source
metal blanks from other suppliers.
11. Identification Plates may vary from the drawings
at Attachment 1 in dimensions of the Identification Plate, size and style of
lettering, and method of providing information in relief, ie, embossed,
indented or etched, but the pre-printed non-variable information shall be of
the format illustrated. A manufacturer’s part number may be included on the
bottom or side edges only, provided that the character height does not exceed
2.5 mm.
12. The DOTARS authorised supplier is the sole
supplier of Identification Plate metal blanks in accordance with Circular
0-2-13 for low production passenger cars, and it is the responsibility of the
Approval holder for completing the variable information on the Identification
Plate. Each of these blanks will have a unique plate number at the bottom right
hand corner.
13. The DOTARS authorised supplier is the sole
supplier of Identification Plates metal blanks for low volume Trailers. The
Trailer manufacturer is responsible for completing the information on the
Identification Plate.
Definitions
14. The Manufacturer
is the name of the person or company who accepts responsibility for the
vehicle’s compliance with the Australian Design Rules (ADRs) and to whom the
Identification Plate Approval is issued.
15. For the purposes of this Circular the Date of Manufacture is the date the
vehicle is available in
16. The Vehicle
Identification Number(VIN) is the number quoted on the Identification Plate
which uniquely identifies the vehicle and sets it apart from similar vehicles.
This number must correspond to the identification
number of the vehicle which is permanently recorded elsewhere on the vehicle.
17. Gross
Vehicle Mass (GVM) in kilograms or Aggregate
Trailer Mass (ATM) in tonnes is the maximum loaded mass of the particular
vehicle to which the Identification Plate is affixed and at which the vehicle has
been shown to comply with the ADRs by the submission and approval of evidence
of compliance.
18. The Seating
Capacity is the number of seated adult passengers which the vehicle is
designed to carry and for which seat positions are provided.
19. The Vehicle
Category is as defined in Vehicle Standard (Australian Design Rules –
Definitions and Vehicle Categories) 2005.
ATTACHMENT 1
IDENTIFICATION PLATES
Category A – standard full volume vehicles, other
than two-wheeled or three-wheeled vehicles – colour other than red, green, blue
or yellow.
Vehicle
APPROVAL No. 12345 CATEGORY MA EPSILON PTY LTD DELTA 230 GL GVM SEATS 5 10/99 VIN EAG162201G0015002 THIS VEHICLE WAS MANUFACTURED TO COMPLY WITH THE
MOTOR VEHICLE STANDARDS ACT 1989
Approval No
Vehicle
Category Code
Manufacturer
Make Model
GVM (refer
Clause
9) Seating
Capacity
Date of Vehicle
Identification Number
Manufacture
(Month/Year)
Dimensions 100mm x 50mm (approx)
Category B – standard full volume two-wheeled and
three-wheeled vehicles – colour other than red, green, blue or yellow.
APPROVAL No. 12345 CATEGORY LC
EPSILON PTY LTD DELTA ZS 350GL 10/99 VIN EAG162201G0015002 THIS VEHICLE WAS MANUFACTURED TO COMPLY WITH THE
MOTOR VEHICLE STANDARDS ACT 1989
Vehicle
Approval
No Vehicle
Category Code
Manufacturer
Make
Model
Date of Vehicle
Identification Number
Manufacture
(Month/Year)
Dimensions 95mmx35mm
(approx)
Note :
All labelled
information (not in bold) to be provided by the manufacturer.
Other
information (in bold) is on the plate blanks available from DOTARS.
Barcode is
required for adhesive labels, refer clause 6(c).
For Category
A and B plates
:
Material :
Metal (or adhesive label, refer clause 1 of Circular)
Fixing for metal plates: Rivetting,
welding, hammer drive screws or
adhesive (refer clause 5).
Fixing for
adhesive labels : refer clause 6 of Circular
Minimum letter
height : 2.5mm
Colour : other
than red, green, blue or yellow
Category C –low volume vehicles other
than two-wheeled and three wheeled
vehicles – colour green.
APPROVAL No. 12345 CATEGORY MA DELTA 230 GL GVM SEATS 5 10/99 VIN EAG162201G0015002 THIS VEHICLE WAS MANUFACTURED BY EPSILON PTY LTD TO COMPLY
WITH THE MOTOR VEHICLE STANDARDS ACT 1989 LOW VOLUME PROCEDURES XXXXX
Vehicle
Approval
No Vehicle Category Code
Make Model
GVM (where Seating Capacity
applicable) Vehicle Identification No
Date of
Manufacture Name appearing on approval
(Month/Year)
Plate Serial No
Dimensions 100mmx50mm
(approx)
Category D –low volume two-wheeled and three-wheeled vehicles – colour green.
APPROVAL No. 12345 CATEGORY MA 10/99 DELTA
230GL VIN EAG162201G0015002 THIS VEHICLE WAS MANUFACTURER BY EPSILON PTY LTD TO
COMPLY WITH THE MOTOR VEHICLE STANDARDS ACT 1989 LOW VOLUME PROCEDURES XXXXX
Vehicle
Vehicl Category Code
Approval No Make
Model
Date of
Vehicle
Identification No
Manufacture
(Month/Year) Name
appearing on approval
Plate Serial No
Dimensions 95mmx40mm
(approx)
Note :
All labelled
information (not in bold) to be provided by the manufacturer.
Other
information (in bold) is on the plate blanks available from DOTARS.
For Category C
and D plates :
Material :
Metal
Fixing:
Rivetting, welding or hammer drive screws.
Minimum letter
height : 2.5mm
Colour : green
Category E– Standard
full volume trailers with ATM > 4.5 Tonnes– colour other than red, green,
blue or yellow.
MAKE MODEL DATE ATM TONNE VIN APPROVAL No THIS TRAILER WAS MANUFACTURED BY TO COMPLY WITH THE MOTOR
VEHICLE STANDARDS ACT 1989 SUB-ASSEMBLY REGISTRATION
NUMBERS THIS PLATE IS AFFIXED WITH THE APPROVAL OF THE ADMINISTRATOR OF
VEHICLE STANDARDS XXXXX
DELTA ZS-350
.
10/02 31.50 6B834001569324567 9200 AA EPSILON TRAILERS PTY LTD
Dimensions 150mm x 90 mm
(approx)
Information
shown in shaded area is on the plate blanks provided by the approved plate
supplier. Other information is to be
provided by the manufacturer.
For Category E
plates :
Material :
Metal
Fixing:
Rivetting, welding or hammer drive screws.
Minimum letter
height : 2.5mm
Colour : other
than red, green, blue or yellow.