About CaravanID.Com
Published: 7th January 2022.
CaravanID.Com is a community led initiative. Based in Edinburgh, Scotland. We were established in 2020 in direct response to the concerns of caravan, motorhome and campervan owners, dismayed at the increase in van thefts and the apparent lack of action to address the situation.
Our founder is a professional ISO security auditor and consultant with many years of experience, assessing, implementing and managing business and information security strategies. Applying this experience to the issue at hand, he identified fundamental weaknesses in caravan and motorhome security and set about providing a solution. That solution is CaravanID.Com.
Although CaravanID.Com (CID) is based in the UK, we recognise that many of our members tour mainland Europe, likewise, many Europeans visit the UK. Our goal is to create a unified, international register that ensures quick, accurate and free identification and protection to all owners wherever you are.
How it works.
Published: 7th January 2022.
Register
The first thing to do is register and join the community, it only takes a couple of minutes and is absolutely free.
As part of your application we will gather some information about you and your van that we will verify.
You will need a photograph of your van, a recent photograph of yourself (optional) and proof that you are the legitimate keeper of the van you are registering such as a current V5 registration document, insurance certificate or bill of sale showing the vehicle identification number (VIN).

Approval:
Once your application is approved, we will issue you with a unique ID and add your van to the database and website. You will also receive a personal username and password (credentials) letting you access and update your CID profile.

Public Information:
Information necessary to identify your van together with other details you add to the ‘public’ section of your profile will be published to the CID website and visible to anyone searching for your ID.

Personal Information:
Information about you, your location or added to the ‘Private’ section of your profiles will NEVER be shown publicly but may be securely accessed by authorised police officers in an emergency.

Information Management:
You will be provided with credentials giving you secure access to your CID profile. You can update your personal and public information at any time without charge. All changes you make are immediate.

Information Lookup:
Anyone with a legitimate interest will be able to enter your ID and view ‘public’ information about your van.
Only duly authorised police officers will be able to access your contact information.

Overt Markings: (optional)
If you wish, we offer a number of overt decals and stickers with your unique ID to display on your van making it instantly identifiable should the worst happen.

Online Shop:
To maintain our free services to you, we rely on our online shop. Please support us.

Once you are a member.
Registration.
As a CaravanID member you will issued with a unique ID comprising of a country code and the last six digits of your van’s Vehicle Identification Number (VIN). This ID, together with information about your van is added to the CaravanID database and can be looked up online, quickly and for free.
No sensitive or personal information will ever be displayed publicly however, authorised police officers and crime prevention agencies may request access to contact information in an emergency.
Identification.
Your van can immediately be identified from your ID or just the last 6 digits of your Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) which is typically stamped on your chassis and manufacturer plate. On many vans it may also be etched on or attached to your windows.
If you prefer more overt recognition and protection, there are a selection of optional decals and markings available from our online shop. These make your ID visible from a distance or from a following vehicle.
Lookup.
Anyone with access to the internet will be able to enter your ID and look up essential ‘PUBLIC‘ information about your van. The information shown will be that necessary for identification and usage only, no personal or sensitive information will be shown publicly unless you choose to do so.
Your CaravanID profile includes a CONFIDENTIAL information section that can only be accessed by authorised police officers or crime prevention organisations for official purposes. In addition to your contact details, you may provide other information that will assist them in identifying your van as yours.
You can access and update your profile at any time. There are no limitations or charges for this service.
NFC Tagging.
Optional for members from our online shop.
NFC tags are pre-programmed with your unique ID. The TAG is typically displayed on the inside of your habitation door window where it serves as a visual warning to potential thieves.
The TAG can be scanned with any NFC enabled smartphone linking directly with your CID public page.
Personal Identification.
Optional for members from our online shop.
The CID membership or ID card serves THREE purposes.
- CaravanID membership card.
- proof of ownership / registration card.
- personal ID card.
On the rear of your card are the essential details about you and your van. In addition to confirming your membership status it can help confirm your identity should the police have reason to check your van.
Spot & Check.
With so many identifying marks, your van is a lot less attractive to opportunist thieves who now have the option of spending hours removing them or risk being caught with an easily identifiable stolen van.
Anyone spotting your van will not only have the ability to recognise it, they can check its usage status. Entering your ID into our free, online lookup facility will reveal if it has been reported stolen or if it should even be on the road. In the case of caravans, it will also state what vehicles are authorised to tow it.
Police Access.
CaravanID has been working with police and other crime prevention agencies and agreed to provide them with secure access to our database. In addition to the information available in the public lookup, approved officers will have access to member’s contact details. This will enable them to contact you quickly in an emergency.

Members Portal
As a CaravanID member you will have unrestricted access to our secure portal where you can update your public and private information in real-time, for example:
- Changing your contact details,
- Adding and removing authorised tow vehicles,
- providing Information about the use of or restrictions on your van.
- Adding private information to assist the police.
All personal and private information will be stored separately in compliance with the UK’s data protection regulations (including GDPR). It will NOT be shared with or sold to ANYONE without your written consent.
YOU will have total control of what information will appear in lookups. You can of course amend or delete it yourself at anytime. See the LOOKUP PAGE for examples of public facing information.

Frequently Asked Questions.
1. Complete the online a membership application form.
2. Visit our Online Shop if you wish to purchase overt ID items such as decals (optional).
Membership applications require verification of your identity and ownership of the van you are registering.
All information will be held securely and in full compliance with the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR). It will not be resold or shared.
If you buy a van that has not been registered with CaravanID you can register it yourself completely free HERE..
The free membership includes registration and a web presence on our site. It does not include decals or other identification markings. These are entirely optional and may be ordered from our Online Shop..
*Proof of ownership will be required for all new registrations and transfers.

The decals are difficult to remove and, depending on the pack you have chosen, there are several of them. This means it would take a potential thief quite some time to remove them all.
As cut decals are not a single item but a number of individual parts that would need to be removed separately. Multiply the time required to do this by the number of decals in your pack and you’re really making it difficult for a thief to hide the identity of your van. It only needs ONE to remain visible to identify and recover your van! Even then there are window etchings and your VIN plate that can be used.
Orders are typically processed and despatched within 5 working days.
When a van is stolen, the thieves change the number plates so, to anyone passing it’s just another caravan on the road. No way for us to identify it, no way to find out if it’s stolen. The only hope of quick recovery is that the police pull it for some other reason and check the chassis number. We all know how often that happens.
The CID system optionally places up to 14 unique and permanent identifying marks on your van, many of which can be read from a distance. Anyone with a smartphone can use that number to check if it’s been reported stolen and in the case of caravans, that it’s being towed by an authorised vehicle. In short - your van will immediately be recognisable from all the similar vans out there.
The numbers on the large stickers are slightly raised, their outline will remain visible through paint.
Most other stickers (even a plain white one) would look out of place in our recommended locations and raise suspicion.
If the van is stationary you could look for one of the other stickers or you could just report your suspicions to the police, they will never criticise you for reporting a potential crime even if it turns out to be a false alarm.

CaravanID, we uses the last 6 digits of your VIN as your unique and visible ID, we also record your full VIN alongside your van details where legitimate interested parties can look it up quickly and for free.
CaravanID is open to anyone and everyone, wherever you live in the world. Let's face it, we tour abroad and owners from other countries tour in the UK. We aim to be a truly global community, providing security and protection wherever you are.
