How to fill out North Dakota SFN 61999

The narrower companion to the equipment inspection, and the one that answers a single question: is there a vehicle identification number physically on this vehicle, and what does it say? The motor vehicle inspection certificate points here in its own header note. The form is built around a twenty-cell comb numbered 1 to 20 into which the inspector prints the number character by character, a location choice with nine options including NO VIN FOUND IN ANY LOCATION, and a certification that the number is permanently affixed. A department-use block at the foot is where an assigned VIN would be recorded.

Written against SFN 61999 (4-2026), issued under NDCC 39-05-20.2, cited at the head of the form; the qualified-business requirement is subsection 3. If you are buying a vehicle without a title, this is the form that decides whether you have bought a vehicle or a problem. A VIN that has been removed, replaced or overstamped turns an untitled-vehicle application into a conversation with the department and, potentially, with the National Crime Information Center check the manual says it runs before issuing any certificate. Look for the number yourself, in daylight, before money changes hands.

Two documents, and they are not the same thing. Take the blank SFN 61999 from the dot.nd.gov copy so you get the revision that is current today, then print our SFN 61999 guide and keep it beside you while you fill theirs in.

Step 1 · the form itself Blank SFN 61999 — Certificate of Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) Inspection PDF at dot.nd.gov · new tab Step 2 · how to fill it in Our filled-in SFN 61999 guide PDF · print and keep beside you

Filled in

What a completed one looks like

This is the actual SFN 61999, rendered from the PDF the North Dakota Department of Transportation, Motor Vehicle Division publishes and completed end to end: letterhead, every field, and the blocks at the foot.

Amber — you write it
Grey — not yours to fill
Numbered — explained below

A completed North Dakota SFN 61999, Certificate of Vehicle Identification Number Inspection. The owner is Marlys J. Thorsrud at 1427 Chestnut St in Grand Forks, ZIP 58201, with her driver's licence number and North Dakota as the issuing jurisdiction. The vehicle is a 1978 Chevrolet C10 Custom Deluxe with the Passenger/Pickup vehicle type ticked. Under VIN Location the body left driver side option is ticked. The thirteen characters of the vehicle identification number are printed one to a cell in the first thirteen of the twenty numbered boxes. The qualified business is Bakken Ridge Auto Service of 3110 Gateway Dr, Grand Forks, inspected on 05/22/2026 by Dale W. Fossum, signed and dated. The MVD use only block at the foot is shaded grey. — The owner's block at the top is the only amber a seller writes; the location, the comb and the certifications are the inspector's. Thirteen characters in a twenty-cell comb is what a 1978 truck looks like on this form - the number is printed from cell one and the rest stay empty. The owner, the shop and the number in the comb are fictional.

Field by field

Every line, in the order you meet it

1
You fill this in
Owner Name, telephone and address
Your name, a contact number and your full mailing address at the head of the form.
Watch out: Use the name that will appear on the title application. This certificate is filed with it.
2
You fill this in
Driver's License or ID Number, and issuing state
Your identification number and the state or jurisdiction that issued it.
Watch out: For a North Dakota resident this doubles as part of the residency proof the untitled-vehicle package requires.
3
You fill this in
Year, Make and Model
The vehicle details, with the model as described on the manufacturer label.
Watch out: The form asks for the manufacturer label wording specifically. On an older vehicle that can differ from what the model is generally called.
4
You fill this in
Vehicle Type
One of seven - passenger or pickup, truck or semi-tractor, motorcycle, trailer, ATV, UTV or off-highway, snowmobile, or other.
Watch out: Pick the one the department will register the vehicle as. Off-highway and snowmobile follow a different registration path entirely.
5
Somebody else fills this in
VIN Location
Where the inspector actually found the number, from nine options - including no VIN found in any location.
Watch out: The inspector ticks this, not you, because the certification is that they personally viewed the number in the location described.
6
Somebody else fills this in
The numbered comb
The number printed one character per cell across twenty numbered boxes, legibly, by the inspector.
Watch out: Watch it being written. An erasure voids the form outright, and a transposed character on a vehicle with no title is a genuine obstacle rather than a typo.
7
Somebody else fills this in
Name of Qualified Business, date and address
The garage's name printed legibly, the inspection date and its full address.
Watch out: Collect the Secretary of State filing at the same visit. Both inspection certificates need the same proof and the same business can usually supply both.
8
Somebody else fills this in
Inspector Name, signature and date
The individual who performed the inspection, above the three certifications and the void-on-alteration warning.
Watch out: The department-use block below the signature is not part of this - Assigned VIN and staff initials are completed in Bismarck for a vehicle that has no number of its own.

At a glance

What goes where

On the form	What to put in it
Vehicle Owner	Owner name, contact telephone number, mailing address with city, state and ZIP, and a driver's licence or identification number with its issuing state or jurisdiction.
Vehicle Details	Year, make, and model as described on the manufacturer label.
Vehicle Type (choose one)	Passenger/Pickup, Truck/Semi-Tractor, Motorcycle, Trailer, ATV/UTV/Off-Highway, Snowmobile, or Other.
VIN Location (choose one)	Nine options in two columns: no VIN found in any location, dashboard or visible through windshield, body left driver side, body right passenger side, other; and engine, engine compartment, trunk, frame.
The permanence requirement	Printed between the location and the comb, in asterisks: the VIN must be permanently affixed to the vehicle in the location described above at the time of inspection.
The numbered comb	Twenty cells labelled 1 to 20, to be printed or typed legibly by the inspector. Older vehicles use fewer than the seventeen a modern VIN needs, and the unused cells stay empty.
Certification	Name of the qualified business performing the inspection, printed legibly, with the date, business address and the inspector's name.
The three certifications	That the vehicle was physically in the inspector's presence at the time of inspection; that if a VIN is entered above it is permanently affixed to the vehicle; and that the inspector personally viewed the VIN in the location described and recorded it accurately.
Signature and Date	Above the warning that erasures, alterations, mutilation or other defacement void this form.
THIS SECTION FOR MVD USE ONLY	Assigned VIN, the initials of the Motor Vehicle Division staff member issuing or assigning it, and the date - the department's block, for a vehicle that has no number of its own.

What gets this one rejected

•An owner filling in the comb. The three certifications turn on the inspector having personally viewed the number and recorded it accurately - it is not a transcription exercise.
•A location ticked that the number is not actually in. The certification names the location described above, and the permanence requirement is tested at that spot.
•Correcting a mis-keyed character. The footer voids the form for an erasure, alteration, mutilation or other defacement, exactly as the certificate of title does - a fresh sheet is the answer.
•Filling the department-use block. Assigned VIN and the staff initials belong to the Motor Vehicle Division, and a vehicle needing an assigned number needs the department, not the garage.
•Expecting it to replace the equipment inspection. They are two forms with two jobs, and the untitled-vehicle package can need both.

Rules that decide whether it is accepted

•Twenty cells, and most vehicles use fewer. The comb is numbered to twenty because it has to hold anything the inspector finds. A seventeen-character modern VIN leaves three empty; a 1970s truck can leave seven.
•No VIN found is a real answer. The first location option exists because some vehicles genuinely have no number left, and that is what the department-use block at the foot is for - the division assigns one.
•Same qualified business rule as the equipment inspection. Registered with the Secretary of State, in good standing, offering motor vehicle repair services to the public. The same shop can usually do both certificates in one visit.
•Legibility is a stated condition. The header warns that incomplete or illegible forms will not be accepted, and a hand-printed VIN in twenty small boxes is where that most often bites.

Every line here was read off SFN 61999 (4-2026) itself — the PDF is here — and off the North Dakota Department of Transportation, Motor Vehicle Division pages. This is plain-language help with a form, not legal advice, and where our wording and the agency's differ, theirs governs.

Back to all North Dakota seller paperwork, or what selling a car in North Dakota involves.

How to fill out North Dakota SFN 61999

What a completed one looks like

Every line, in the order you meet it

Owner Name, telephone and address

Driver's License or ID Number, and issuing state

Year, Make and Model

Vehicle Type

VIN Location

The numbered comb

Name of Qualified Business, date and address

Inspector Name, signature and date

What goes where

What gets this one rejected

Rules that decide whether it is accepted

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