Dittos for me with the CA DMV.
My car had been on hiatus for 7 years and I hadta re-register it all over again. The "inspector" asked me to open the hood after copying down the VIN off the windshield. (Incorrectly, I might add, which resulted in a second adventure a month later...)
Anyway, I said "The hood? You mean the trunk pointing at the "frunk", and he says "Yeah". I did so and then remembered there was also a VIN plate on the RH inner fender well and also a VIN stamped on the cowl behind the battery. For an instant, I thought this guy really knew what he was doing and I pointed out these two other locations...
He then says, "No, shaking his head, open the back trunk..." I said that there's nothing back there... but he insisted, so I did.
He just stares and then asks where is the engine, he needs to see the engine. "Oh..." I said, why didn't you just say so... and I opened the engine cover. It was then very obvious he had no idea of what he was looking at! Over the years I have encountered several supposedly "know-it-all" types with the same amount of experience, intelligence and/or interpersonal interactions... and most were CA Licensed Smog Check inspectors.