Find the CRiS number
CRiS says it is etched in the bottom right-hand corner of each window and on the main door to the habitation area, with a stamp on the chassis, often on the A-frame. Older caravans (1987 to 1991) carry an NCC mark of year, make and serial on the nearside A-frame instead.
Compare every etching
Walk round the caravan and read the number on every window. They should all match each other and the chassis stamp. One replaced window with no etching can be innocent; two numbers that differ, or etchings that have been ground out, are not.
Run the CRiS check
£17.95 at cris.co.uk against the number you read yourself. It reports a stolen marker, outstanding finance, an insurance write-off and whether the caravan is registered to a named keeper.
Call Theftcheck
The Caravan and Motorhome Club runs a Theftcheck register, open to members and non-members, on 01342 336885, where prospective buyers and the police can check whether a caravan has been notified to the Club as stolen.
Check the paperwork against the person
The CRiS Registration Document should be in the seller's name at the address where you are standing. Ask to see the purchase receipt and the service history; a caravan with a full file rarely turns out to be stolen.
If anything does not add up, walk away and report it
Do not buy it to "sort out later". Tell the police on 101 and CRiS what you found, with the number and where the caravan is.
The physical signs of a stolen caravan
- Ground-out, scratched-over or missing window etchings. The Caravan and Motorhome Club's identification guide is blunt: "If there is evidence of removal of numbers, treat as stolen."
- Numbers that differ from window to window, or from the windows to the chassis stamp.
- A filed or over-painted chassis stamp on the A-frame.
- A brand-new hitch lock or wheel clamp with no keys for the old one, or fresh drill marks where a security post was.
- A very recent CRiS Registration Document on an older caravan, or none at all.
- A seller who wants to meet in a lay-by, a storage yard they cannot get into, or anywhere other than the address on the document.
- A price well under the market and pressure to pay a deposit before viewing.
The Club's guide adds a useful tip: thieves do not always remove every number, so look for the CRiS number written inside cupboards or on the chassis in other places, where many owners record it.
What a stolen marker means for you
A stolen caravan stays the property of its owner or their insurer. If it is identified later it is returned to them, and you are left claiming your money back from a seller who has usually disappeared. A £17.95 check against a £15,000 to £30,000 purchase is the cheapest insurance there is, and it also catches finance, which is the other way to lose the caravan; see caravan finance check.
Motorhomes: checked by registration
A motorhome or campervan is checked against the police stolen vehicle feed by its registration; our £4.99 check does that. See motorhome stolen check.
Buying a touring caravan?
Tourers use the CRiS register, not a vehicle check. Read our honest guide.
Touring caravan guide