The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office Agricultural Crimes Unit is proud to announce the establishment of the Owner Applied Number system as a property / equipment marking program. In the past, the recognized statewide system of marking equipment was the FLO number. The Florida Sheriff's Association recognized this program but over the last several years the program has been abandoned. As a result, the Florida Sheriff's Association no longer maintains the program. As a more viable system, we have established the Owner Applied Number or OAN system in Palm Beach County. Our goal is for OAN to be the statewide recognized marking system.

The OAN System is consists of ten characters, which identify the state, county, and business. The coded identification number allows local law enforcement to identify stolen property and contact the owner. OAN's are stamped in several locations on heavy equipment and other Agri-business assets and may be affixed by metal die stamps, indelible ink, branding iron or electric pencils.

OAN, which was developed by the FBI, has its own field in both the Florida Crime Information Center (FCIC) and the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) records. OAN, by design, is a supplemental means of identification to the manufacturer's factory I.D. numbers.

OAN will generally not be as large or precise as those applied by the manufacturer. The OAN are most often stamped using 1/8" or 1/4" letters and numbers. This combination of numbers and letters will be issued by the Sheriff's Office. Below is an example of the format that your OAN will look like when it is issued.