Stolen machines and equipment: what police units and national registers publish in the UK and US
This page reports what the UK national police unit pages, the UK marking scheme and the US national equipment register say about reporting a theft and identifying a machine, and where no official page was found.
Checked against the sources at the bottom of this page on October 9, 2026. Rules, fees and pay change: the source has the last word.
This page reports what the official source says. It is not legal advice: ask the office named here.
The questions to put to a seller of used kit, and the VIN lookup for trucks, are in the buying used gear guide. Hire and loan of machines is covered in the hiring guide, and the records the regulators name for a machine in the machine inspection guide.
United Kingdom
The National Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service (NaVCIS) Agriculture and Plant page says rural, agricultural and construction crime are the focus of two specialist national units: the National Rural Crime Unit and the National Construction and Agricultural Theft Team, both supported through Northumbria Police.
The NaVCIS advice page says 101 is the number to call to contact local police in England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland when a matter is less urgent than a 999 call, and gives a stolen car as an example of a 101 report. It says 999 is for an emergency such as a crime in progress, a suspect nearby, danger to life or violence used or threatened. It links Crimestoppers for giving information online, and lists the CESAR scheme as the construction and agricultural marking and registration scheme.
CESAR describes itself as the official construction and agricultural equipment security and registration scheme, established in 2008 and owned by the Construction Equipment Association. It says more than 650,000 machines are registered, that it combines an ID technology with overt and covert deterrents, and that its triangular registration plate has become the industry standard identification mark, with support from local authorities, contractors, the farming community, hire companies, the police and insurers. It also runs a theft report line and a police enquiry line. These are the scheme's statements about itself, not a police finding.
United States
The National Equipment Register (NER) says it partners with the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) and makes stolen equipment information available to local law enforcement. Its report-a-theft page says there is no cost to submit a theft report and no recovery fee if police recover the equipment using NER information.
The same page says a police report number is required for an item to count as stolen in NER; without one the item is treated as missing. It says an accurate product identification number is needed, which it says may also be called a vehicle identification number or serial number, and that the correct model number should be included. A single report takes a maximum of five pieces of equipment. The NER home page lists theft alerts by region of the country, grouped as Northeast, Southeast, Central and Western.
Place by place
| Place | Reporting channel the source names | Register or marking scheme the source names |
|---|---|---|
| Australia | No official page found on October 9, 2026 | No official page found on October 9, 2026 |
| Canada | No official page found on October 9, 2026 | No official page found on October 9, 2026 |
| New Zealand | No official page found on October 9, 2026 | No official page found on October 9, 2026 |
| United Kingdom | 101 for non-emergency police reports, 999 in an emergency, Crimestoppers for information | CESAR marking and registration scheme |
| United States | Local police report first, then a no-cost NER theft report that needs the police report number | NER register, with NICB as partner |
For Australia, Canada and New Zealand the police and national crime pages that were opened either returned a not found message, a bot check, or a general page that does not mention equipment theft. Nothing was inferred from them.