Vehicle ID – Altered, Copied, Transferred & Cloned

Vehicle Registration Marks (VRMs):

1. Altered
2. Copied
3. Transferred/Ringed
4. Cloned

They are not the same thing.

Vehicle identity terminology is routinely confused. CarCrimeUK has produced a new four-part series explaining the distinctions and why they matter.

Vehicle Identity — It Is Not All “Cloning”

Vehicle identity terminology is routinely confused. For example, ‘cloned’ is often used as a catch-all description for a vehicle displaying a registration mark that does not belong to it. That may be convenient. It is not particularly helpful. As for ‘copy’ – is the common explanation for this justified?

CarCrimeUK has produced a new four-part Vehicle Identity Explained series to separate four quite different changes:

1. ALTER – the simplest.
   One or more characters of the displayed vehicle registration mark are changed, while the underlying vehicle and VIN remain the same.
2. COPY – another vehicle’s registration mark is reproduced and displayed.
   Avoiding parking and speeding penalties is the familiar explanation, but is that always the real attraction? A copied VRM may also cause an electronic enquiry to present legitimacy.
3. TRANSFER / RINGING – an identity from a donor or salvage vehicle is transferred to another vehicle, commonly a stolen one.
   Ringing may have become more difficult as vehicle-history information improved, but it has certainly not become irrelevant. The donor normally disappears from road use, leaving one (stolen) vehicle presenting that identity.
4. CLONE – A stolen vehicle is made to present the identity of a genuine vehicle which continues to exist.
   Two different vehicles may therefore be on the road sharing the same identity; the legitimate one and a stolen one wearing its identity features.

The distinctions matter.

A copied registration mark is not the same as a cloned vehicle. A ringed vehicle does not ordinarily leave two vehicles simultaneously using the donor identity. And simply altering a registration character does not change the underlying identity of the vehicle at all.

Understanding what has actually changed is more useful than arguing about the label.

The videos are deliberately introductory. They do not explain how vehicle identities are manipulated and they do not attempt to cover every circumstance or motive. Each is accompanied by a more detailed Car Crime UK article.

Watch the four-part series

Vehicle Identity Explained — ALTER • COPY • TRANSFER • CLONE

Car Crime UK — independent information and analysis on vehicle crime, vehicle identity and stolen vehicles.