In 2021, the Minnesota Legislature created the Minnesota Catalytic Converter Theft Prevention Pilot program (Minn. Stat. 325E.21 subd.2b) . The intent of the program is to deter the theft of catalytic converters by marking them with unique identification numbers that permanently mark the catalytic converter.
The Commerce Fraud Bureau administers this program and chose the CATGUARD Label Solution as the primary method for marking catalytic converters. The labels are installed by sticking the label onto a – cool to the touch – catalytic converter. A fluid is then painted onto the label, which, once a vehicle is started, causes the unique number to be etched into the metal. Once registered, the unique number allows law enforcement to trace a converter back to a specific vehicle if a converter were to be stolen and later recovered.
