Property Marking and Serial Number Register

Who this is for

What makes each of your valuables identifiable. Record every serial or frame number and where it is found, any mark you have added, the photo that shows it and the ownership register it is on, so a lost or stolen item can be traced and returned.

Households with bikes, phones, laptops, cameras, tools and jewellery worth getting back, cyclists before a bike goes on a rack in town, and anyone who has just been asked for a serial number they did not have.

What this helps you track

• The serial or frame number of every portable valuable
• Where on the item that number is printed or stamped
• Marks you have added yourself, how and where
• Photos and features that tell your item apart from others
• Which register each item is on, and the report if it goes

How to use it

1. Write your name, the mark you use and where your photos and receipts are kept.
2. Take each item in turn, find its serial or frame number and write it down with where it is found.
3. Mark anything without a number, record how and where, and photograph the item, the number and the mark.
4. Register items with an ownership scheme where one is available to you, and write the date and reference.
5. If something is lost or stolen, fill in the box on the first page with the report details and tell the register.
6. The second page continues the list; keep a copy away from the house as well as the browser version, which saves in your own browser.

Formats

• Printable PDF (A4 and US Letter)
• Fillable PDF with form fields
• Fill in online, saved in your browser

The printable is laid out inside a box that fits both A4 and US Letter, so the two files are identical and neither one is scaled. The fillable PDF has real form fields. The online version keeps what you enter in your own browser and builds the completed PDF on your device.

How to print

Download the A4 or US Letter file to match the paper in your printer, open it in a PDF reader and print at 100% — not "fit to page", which shrinks the writing space. Both files leave a 14 mm margin, which clears the unprintable edge on home printers. To print the online version with your entries in it, use the Print this sheet button, which prints only the sheet and none of the page around it. More on printing.

Questions

How is this different from a home inventory?

A home inventory records what you own and what it is worth, for insurance. This register records what identifies each item: its number, your mark and where it is registered, so it can be traced and proved to be yours.

What if an item has no serial number?

Add a mark of your own, such as an ultraviolet pen mark, an engraving or a security label, and record what you used and where it is. A clear photo and a note of any scratches or features help too.

Where can I register my belongings?

Some countries have ownership registers that the police can search, and some bike makers and shops run their own schemes. Check what is available where you live and write the scheme and your reference against each item.

Should I keep this sheet at home?

Keep a second copy somewhere else as well, such as a photo stored online or a copy with a relative, because the paper in the house could go missing with everything else.