National Highway Traffic Safety Administration July 24, 2014 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The tire identification number (TIN), which must appear on virtually all new and retreaded motor vehicle tires sold in the United States, plays an important role in identifying which tires are subject to recall and remedy campaigns for safety defects and noncompliances. This document proposes two amendments to the TIN. First, because NHTSA is running out of two-symbol codes to identify new tire plants, NHTSA is proposing to expand the first portion of the TIN, known as the manufacturer identifier, from two symbols to three for manufacturers of new tires. This amendment would substantially increase the number of unique combinations of characters that can be used to identify individual manufacturers of new tires. Second, NHTSA is proposing to standardize the length of the tire identification number to eliminate confusion that could arise from the variable length of tire identification numbers. This NPRM would standardize the length of the TIN at 13 symbols for new tires and 7 symbols for retreaded tires, making it easier to identify a TIN from which a symbol is missing.