Things that are registered

Factual Questions
1

In America, cars have VIN numbers which are registered directly to their owners (I assume boats, motorcycles, recreational vehicles and commercial trucks too?)

Firearms have serial numbers, also registered.

Medical implants have serial numbers - although I am not sure if ALL implants have serials, and if they’re registered or just traceable to the doctor/institution that purchased them.

What other products have trace-able registration numbers/serial numbers in America? How about in other countries?

2

High-end radar detectors.

Sirius radios.

Bicycles (I think)

Windows (Microsoft, not dual-pane)

3

Microsoft has a registry of every legitimate installation of Windows.

Pretty much every software vendor has some sort of registration that they keep track of, really.

Satellite TV receivers are registered with the provider, as are cellphones.

High-security locks often have traceable and registered keys.

There are quite a few access control devices that are registered in one way or another. My ID badge for work is has a unique serial number that’s registered in the company, as are my “SecurID” tokens. For these things, the manufacturer creates the devces with globally unique serial numbers. They’ll track what company the things were sold to, but they don’t know who they’ve been assigned to in that company.

4

What do you mean by “traceable”? In the case of cars, virtually all are registered by the local government, and in some cases those records are (I believe) accessible to the public or to others outside the state motor vehicle department.

I’m no expert on gun control, but I believe that in some states they are registered by the government and in others they aren’t. Regardless, in most places there are substantial numbers of illegally owned unregistered guns, which is not the case with cars to any significant extent.

I have no idea about medical implants, but most of the suggestions made in subsequent posts were consumer products that may or may not be registered by their respective manufacturers/vendors. The traceability of such products is not a matter of public record, the way that car or gun records may be.

gotpasswords has pointed out a few cases in which registration of accurate user information with the maker is essentially required: cell phones and satellite TV receivers. However, you can buy pre-paid disposable cell phones that would provide anonymity to a user. In the case of software products, ISTM that in most cases there’s not much stopping one from “registering” with a false name or postal address, thus reducing the potential for traceability.

Also, there are obviously vast numbers of consumer products with serial numbers that are not registered anywhere. Virtually all consumer electronic products (TVs, DVD players, computers, etc.) have serial numbers, but registering them with the manufacturer is voluntary on the part of the purchaser, and I would guess that most people do not bother.

If you want to know who owns car with a specific VIN, or everyone who owns a 2002 blue Honda Accord in Michigan, it’s probably not hard to find that out. Less likely that you could do the same with guns. And far less likely that you could do it with a certain model of TV set.

So what do you mean by traceable: traceable by whom and to what level of detail? What you really want to know?

5

Boats are supposed to have a HIN (Hull Identification Number) except for inflatable rafts, boats under 9 feet, seaplanes, etc.

Even hand made boats can get one. In MN kayaks/canoes are supposed to get a stricker (not all states require it for hand propelled boats), I jumped through some hoops and got a HIN as well.

Airplanes have both a serial number and a tail number.

Amateur Radio stations get callsigns.

Brian

6

Actually, let me clarify a bit (and answer commasense’s question)

What I meant was MANDATORY registration of the item with a central governing body - I suppose I mean government - like a car’s VIN.

I do realize that most software requires registration, but it doesn’t require my SSN or proof of much of anything. And while Microsoft can take action against me for being in possession of their software w/o having registered it, the government doesn’t have a law that makes me register Windows while it DOES have a law (at the state or federal level, I don’t know), which makes it mandatory to register my VIN with the title WITH THE GOVERNMENT.

I am asking this question because I am nose-deep in past episodes of CSI, where VINs and gun serial numbers come in to play often, as well as medical implants. So I was sort of wondering how else one might be traced by their possessions, in a mandatory, governmental sort of way.

I’m also curious if there’s things like this - like VINs - for other items in other countries.

Not because I’m paranoid - I actually like the fact that if the cops find my car with the plates and everything else stripped, at least I can get a phone call.

7

I have older guns that are not registered. The Police Chief does not have a problem with that. Maybe Maryland is different that way. I did not know that JUST because a gun was not registered that it was automatically illegal.

Anyone know for sure?

8

I always get a chuckle when on CSI Miami Horatio says “Who’s the gun registered to?” because Florida has no registration at all for fireams. They’d have to go back to the manufacturer and see what distributor they shipped it to. Then to the distributor to see what dealer they shipped it to. Then to the dealer, who’d have to physicaly search his paper records to see who he sold it to. And that would pretty much be the end of the trail. It might have legally changed hands once a week for the next year or two and no one would have a clue. :slight_smile:

Other states would handle it differently. Some, such as Michigan, do have a defacto gun registration in place.

But other than the paperword required by a sale from a FFL holder, there’s no “gun registration” thats uniform across the USA.

9

most prescription medicine. A lot of car parts.

10

X-ray machines, radiation therapy machines, and most radioactive sources.

11

Thanks for the clarification, ZipperJJ. So if you’re looking for gummint registration of things that a private citizen might own, it probably comes down mostly to stuff that’s big, dangerous, or both. We can thank N9IWP for reminding us about planes and boats. The ham radio stations are a slightly different thing, because unless I’m mistaken, the individual operator may be licensed by the government, but I don’t believe that the hardware is registered per se.

We already had cars and guns. The radioactive sources that yoyodyne mentioned qualify, but I’d guess the vast majority of those are registered to corporations or entities other than individual citizens, which seems to be your focus.

Houses and real estate nominally fit, although they, too, may not be the kind of thing you were thinking about.

I just thought of something else from my own experience: postage meters. Again, the majority of these are not owned by individuals, but I have one for my small business. Actually, I don’t (and can’t) own it: I lease it from Pitney Bowes and have to register it with my local post office, complete with the actual address at which it is physically located. which in my case is different from the address at which my business receives mail.

So there might be another category of things that involve some sort of government service, like postage.

12

It depends on the state/municipality that you live in.

Two of my guns were purchased by me at retail. The SN was recorded on the ATF form filled out when I purchased the gun, but the rest of my guns are unregistered/recorded (At least to me).

It’s not a requirement for private transactions to record any information regarding serial numbers, nor is it required for me to inform anyone that I’ve purchased/acquired any new firearms.

I am also not required to have any sort of licensing to own any of my firearms. (in NH) The only exception to this would be if I wanted to carry a pistol conceiled. If I want to carry a pistol, open in a holster, on my belt (visable), through town, no license is required. If any of my clothing covers the pistol, then the permit would be required. I don’t own any handguns, so this isn’t a particular issue for me either way. Though no license is required to purchase/own/carry (openly), I do have to pass the instant check from the govt if I’m purchasing a firearm via an FFL (Federal Firearms Licensee), but not through a private sale.

This varies by state & city though.

Exactly right. I as a HAM am registered/licensed, but my gear is not. I can use my father’s gear, or anyone else’s gear, with my call sign when operating, and have no legal requirement to identify the ‘station’.

13

Here’s a category that is big and dangerous, but has no system of registration. The things we call “heavy equipment,” such as backhoes, bulldozers, road graders, and such, are unidentifiable if stolen. Perhaps the same is true for large farm equipment, but I don’t know.

14

Surely they must have serial numbers and records must be kept of whom they are sold to? They may not be registered with the government, but I can’t just drive a bulldozer off a construction site and onto my lawn and then taunt they owners by saying, “You can’t prove this is your bulldozer!” Can I?

15

Yes, you can, though taunting the owners might get you into some internet site about dumb criminals. Usually the thief has his own trailer. He drives the big honkin’ thing onto the trailer and drives away. If nobody witnesses the theft, he’s home free. Free to sell the beast, and nobody can trace it. No, there’s no VIN. One Caterpillar D-10 looks like all the rest. Some owners weld their firm’s name onto the heavy parts, but they usually don’t.

16

Sex offenders?

17

Well, I’m just stunned. I don’t know your credentials or background, AskNott, but assuming that you’re qualified to speak on the subject, I find this amazing. Why wouldn’t manufacturers of such expensive equipment take the minimal trouble to provide ID numbers? I guess the level of theft of these items is low enough that the market doesn’t demand it. But I’d have assumed that the mfrs would just do it as a matter of course. Ya learn something new every day!

18

Humming the $100,000 Pyramid theme song…
:slight_smile:

19

I am sure that the tractors have ID numbers. That will only let you know the first owner. Without a requirement to document the sales of equipment it becomes a he said she said argument to prove that it was stolen. It is similar to recovering and proven theft for all other manufactured items like TVs or computers.

20

That’s not what I take AskNott to be saying. He’s says there are no numbers.

Anyway, if I report stolen merchandise to the police, give a serial number and can show purchase receipts, anyone who happens to be in possession of it and can’t show a bill of sale from me must be assumed to have stolen it or received it from the thief. That’s not a “he-said, she-said” case.