Motor Vehicle Safety Regulations — 115
115 (1) Every vehicle shall have a vehicle identification number and that vehicle identification number shall not be the same as the vehicle identification number of a vehicle having a model year of 1980 or later manufactured within the preceding 60 years. (1.1) A vehicle that is manufactured from an incomplete vehicle shall bear the vehicle identification number assigned by the incomplete vehicle manufacturer. (1.2) Where a vehicle identification number is stated on a label bearing a statement of compliance affixed to a vehicle and the vehicle is altered, the vehicle identification number shall apply to the altered vehicle. (2) Subject to subsection (2.1), the vehicle identification number of each vehicle shall (a) be composed of capital, sanserif characters; (b) be sunk into, embossed on or imprinted, clearly and indelibly, and in such a manner that the vehicle identification number cannot be removed without damaging or defacing the plate, label or vehicle, on (i) an integral or structural part of the vehicle other than the dash-board pad or dash-board cover, (ii) the dash-board or dash-board cover if it is not designed to be replaced following an air bag deployment, or (iii) a separate plate or label that is permanently affixed in a location referred to in subparagraph (i) or (ii); and (c) in the case of a low-speed vehicle, multi-purpose passenger vehicle, passenger car, three-wheeled vehicle or truck having a GVWR of 4 536 kg or less, be (i) composed of characters having a minimum height of 4 mm, (ii) located inside the occupant compartment, and (iii) without any part of such vehicle being removed, readable through the vehicle glazing under daylight conditions by an observer having 20/20 vision Snellen whose eyepoint is located outside the vehicle adjacent to the left windshield pillar. (2.1) The vehicle identification number of a snowmobile shall (a) be composed of capital, sans serif characters; (b) be sunk into, embossed on, imprinted on or permanently affixed on the right exterior vertical surface of the track tunnel; (c) be difficult to remove, replace or alter without detection; (d) be composed of characters having a minimum height of 4 mm; (e) be legible and indelible; (f) be legible without any part of the vehicle having to be removed; and (g) be protected from corrosion. (2.2) At the option of the manufacturer, the vehicle identification number may also be displayed in a bar code format that shall meet the requirements of section 5.6 of guideline AIAG B-10, Trading Partner Labels Implementation Guideline (February, 2000), except for the specifications respecting code density and dimensions, which shall meet the requirements of section 4.1 of standard AIAG B-2, Vehicle Identification Number Label Standard (June, 1988). (2.3) Every bar coded vehicle identification number shall be displayed on (a) the vehicle’s compliance or information label; or (b) a separate label that is applied beside the compliance or information label in accordance with paragraphs 7(a) and (b) of these Regulations. (2.4) If the vehicle identification number is displayed on a label in a bar code format, it need not, until September 1, 2012, also be applied to the vehicle in accordance with paragraph 115(2)(b), but may, at the option of the manufacturer, be sunk into, embossed on or imprinted, clearly and indelibly, on (a) any part of the vehicle that is not designed to be removed except for repair, other than glazing; or (b) a separate plate or label that is permanently affixed to a part referred to in paragraph (a). (3) The vehicle identification number of any vehicle shall be alphanumeric and shall be composed of 17 characters as follows: (a) the first three characters, the third of which shall not be “9”, shall uniquely identify the manufacturer and the prescribed class of vehicle, if the manufacturer manufactures 1,000 or more vehicles of a prescribed class annually; (a.1) the first three characters, the third of which shall be “9”, and th