What Is Altering a Vehicle Identification Number?

Altering a vehicle identification number (VIN) is, at its most fundamental level, an attempt to mislead police investigating grand theft auto.  It is a method of disguising the true vehicle VIN by giving it another VIN.  There are two ways this crime can be prosecuted.

Vehicle Code § 10750 makes it a misdemeanor to deface, alter, tamper with or destroy a vehicle identification number in any way.  The penalty for violating this law is one year in county jail and / or a fine of up to $1,000.

Vehicle Code § 10802 is VIN tampering to misrepresent the identity of the vehicle or part for the purpose of selling or transferring it, including to export it.  No sale or transfer has to take place for one to be found guilty of violating 10802.  The penalty for violating this law can be up to three years in state prison and /or a fine of up to $25,000.  The law is a “wobbler,” so it may also be punished as a misdemeanor with up to one year in county jail. 

In both cases, the case may be resolved with probation in lieu of time in custody.  While on probation, the person may have an obligation to perform a certain amount of community service hours, not associate with gang members (if defendant is suspected of being in a gang) and not violating any laws.  The probation officer may also regularly visit the defendant to ensure he or she is not repeating the same conduct.

Both Vehicle Code 10750 and 10802 apply when one alters or destroys a VIN other than by accident.  The scope of Section 10802 includes a larger number of wrongful acts than 10750  The biggest difference between the code sections is one of purpose. 

Vehicle Code 10802 requires proof that defendant altered a VIN with the specific intent to misrepresent or hide the identity of the vehicle or part so that it could be sold or otherwise transferred.  Such proof can come in the form of text messages or postings to sell a vehicle or a part of the car, often with a description of the car or part as “original” or “authentic.”

It is common to see a violation of Vehicle Code § 10802 charged with operating a “chop shop,” Vehicle Code § 10801 and / or possession of multiple vehicles / parts with altered VIN’s, Vehicle Code § 10803.  10802 VC was passed with “chop shops” in mind.  Chop shop operators often dismantle parts from stolen vehicles and combine them into a new vehicle.  They do this in such a way that it is either impossible or very difficult to recognize that it has been done without looking at the VIN.

We at Greg Hill & Associates have encountered this crime in several cases involving grand theft auto.

As the reader may be well aware, the VIN is used to identify a motor vehicle or motor vehicle part for the purpose of vehicle registration.  All vehicles have a unique VIN that is used by the Department of Motor Vehicles to register each vehicle.  The VIN is usually etched on a metal plate attached to the dashboard on the driver’s side of the vehicle, as well as in six or seven other places (the engine block, frame and body).  Law enforcement uses these other locations to identify a vehicle when the public VIN on the dashboard has been altered or removed.

There are numerous defenses to these charges.  The most common one is simply that one defaced or altered the VIN by accident while working on the car.  Another very common defense is that someone else did so and that defendant unknowingly purchased the car from someone else, not knowing it was “hot.”  Or one may have bought the car and noticed the VIN on the engine block did not match the one in the vehicle dashboard, so that person “fixed” one of VIN’s to make the two match.

If charged for altering the VIN for purposes of sale, one may also argue that he or she altered the VIN just to disguise it from being noticed as a stolen car, not to sell it.

One defense that may arise in either case is that the police engaged in an unlawful search, in violation of defendant’s Fourth Amendment rights.