Our current VIN system was born in 1981.  In 1981, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration of the United States standardized the format.  It required all over-the-road-vehicles sold to contain a 17-character VIN.  VINs were first used in 1954. From 1954 to 1981, there was no accepted standard for these numbers, different manufacturers used different formats.  Prior to 1954, it was very popular to use the engine serial number as the identifier on the issued title for many states.