Serial Number Restoration

About the Examination

Items such as firearms, electronic equipment, farm equipment, industrial machinery, trucks, motorcycles, and other motor vehicles carry identifying serial numbers or markings stamped on their metal surfaces. Although federal and state laws make it a violation to alter or remove identifying data from some of these items, numerous cases involving this type of evidence are still encountered.

Criminal activity involving theft or illegal use of these items may lead an offender to remove identifying data so that ownership cannot be traced. Where numbers have been over-stamped or obliterated by grinding, sanding, or other methods, they may no longer be identifiable.

Through the use of chemical and physical restoration techniques, the numbers can sometimes be made readable again.