Chassis number: copy it out or photograph the registration document?

Copy the number or photograph the document: which to choose?

The AZ Carrosserie quote form gives you two ways to say which car it is. You copy the chassis number into the field provided, or you attach a photo of the vehicle registration document (permis de circulation). Either one is enough, and you can also send both.

If you have the document to hand, the photo is the safest choice: it avoids copying mistakes.

Why does the form ask for it?

The chassis number identifies one specific car, where “a small grey hatchback” describes thousands.

Without a number and without a photo of the document, the request does not go through: the form tells you before sending, and shows you what is missing. Nothing is lost; you just complete it.

Where to find it on the document

On a Swiss vehicle registration document, the chassis number is in field 23. On a French carte grise, it is in box E. It usually has 17 characters.

Copying the number without mistakes

If you choose to copy it, hold the document in your hand rather than typing the number from memory or from an old email.

• copy it in one go, with no spaces or dashes;
• read it back character by character before sending;
• a recent chassis number contains no I, no O and no Q: if you think you see an O, it is a zero, and an I is a one.

If your car is older, its number may not follow these rules: copy it exactly as it is. A single mistake is enough to point to another car. If in doubt, attach the photo of the document as well.

A photo of the document that reads first time

The photo of the registration document is attached separately, as a single file: the vehicle page. It does not count among the four photos of the damage, which stay for the car itself.

Three habits make it useful:

• lay the document flat, on a dark surface with no reflections;
• frame the whole document, edges included;
• zoom in on your phone screen and check that the characters can be read.

If the photo looks blurred or badly lit, the form warns you and suggests taking it again. If the car is registered in France, it accepts a photo of the carte grise in the same way.

What happens to the data sent through the form is set out in the site’s privacy policy.

What else should go with the request?

The chassis number says which car it is. The rest says what happened to it:

• the damaged area, which you mark on the diagram of the car;
• the type of damage: scratch, dent, deep dent, broken part or broken glass;
• up to four photos of the damage, taken with your phone, close up and then from a little further back;
• for an insurance claim, the name of your insurer, and the claim number if you have it.

The request is made online, at any hour, from the Request a quote page. The quote costs you nothing. With the area and the photos, you receive the amount before you drop off the car; it is then gone through with you, and nothing starts without your agreement. We reply within 24 working hours.

A question before sending the request?

Call the workshop on 076 429 04 12. It is at Avenue Pictet-de-Rochemont 33ter, 1207 Genève, in Eaux-Vives, open Monday to Friday, 7.30 am – 12 noon and 1 pm – 5.30 pm.

See also: A minor collision in a Geneva parking space: what to do in the first hour, for the photos to take at the scene.