How to read a VIN

Every car and light truck sold in the United States since the 1981 model year has a 17-character Vehicle Identification Number (VIN), in a format set by federal rule (49 CFR Part 565). The letters I, O and Q are never used, so they cannot be confused with 1 and 0.

Positions 1 to 3: who made it

The World Manufacturer Identifier. The first character shows the region where the manufacturer is registered: 1, 4 or 5 for the United States, 2 for Canada, 3 for Mexico, J for Japan, K for South Korea and W for Germany, for example.

Positions 4 to 8: what it is

The vehicle descriptor section. Each manufacturer decides what these mean, usually the model line, body style, engine and restraint system. This is why a decoder needs each manufacturer's registered patterns, which is what NHTSA collects.

Position 9: the check digit

A number (or X) calculated from the other 16 characters. If it does not match, the VIN has probably been mistyped. Our decoder checks it before showing any result.

Position 10: model year

Position 11: assembly plant

A code for the factory, assigned by the manufacturer.

Positions 12 to 17: serial number

The production sequence number for that vehicle.

Cars built before 1981

Older vehicles have shorter VINs in formats that each manufacturer chose for itself, so a standard decoder cannot read them.