ESEEM (electron spin echo envelope modulation) spectra of a series of vanadyl complexes have for the first time revealed the spectral features that arise from amine nitrogen donors trans to the vanadyl oxo moiety. The complexes [VO(H2O)ada] (1) and [VO(H2O)Hheida] (2) (H(2)ada, N-(2-acetamido)iminodiacetic acid; H(3)heida, N-(2-hydroxyethyl)iminodiacetic acid) have recently been synthesized and crystallographically characterized (Hamstra, B. J.; Houseman, A. L. P.; Colpas, G. J.; Kampf, J. W.; LoBrutto, R.; Frasch, W. D.; Pecoraro, V. L. Inorg. Chem. 1997, 36, 4866-4874). In each structure, the ligand is disposed so that the tertiary nitrogen is bound trans to the vanadyl ore. In solution, the structural integrity of these compounds is maintained as observed by UV/vis and EPR spectroscopies. ESEEM spectra of 1, 2, and [VO(H2O)nta](-)(3) (H(3)nta, nitrilotriacetic acid) reveal that the superhyperfine coupling constants for axial amines are congruent to 1.3 MHz as opposed to the congruent to 5.0 MHz superhyperfine couplings typically observed for equatorially coordinated amines. The data indicate that not only can axial nitrogen donors to VO2+ be detected, but they may also be distinguished from nitrogen donors in the equatorial plane of the vanadyl ion. The implications of this study with respect to understanding the coordination environment of VO2+ in the vanadyl-substituted chloroplast F-1-ATPase (CF1) and the reduced, inactive form of vanadium bromoperoxidase (VBrPO) are discussed.