VIN: The 17-character code that runs the automotive world
The 17-character code that runs the automotive world In 1979, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration faced a problem: how do you track 100+ million vehicles across 50 states when every manufacturer uses different serial number schemes? Their solution became one of the most successful information architecture projects in history – the Vehicle Identification Number standard. What emerged wasn’t just a unique identifier. It was a compressed database record, a mathematical validation system, and a regulatory framework that would process 17 million new vehicles annually while maintaining backward compatibility for decades. This is how that system actually works. The 565 submittal system: How vehicles enter the database Before any vehicle can legally be sold in the United States,…
