What is a VIN?
Vehicle Identification Number, also called VIN, is a unique 17-character identifying code assigned to each motor vehicle by the automaker from 1980 onwards. It is composed of capital letters and numbers to reveal the detailed information about an individual car, such as its modeling year, country of origin, serial number, its assembly plant and more. It's an essential part for identification, as many changes and actions will be recorded via the serial number.
Where to find my VIN?
On most passenger cars, there are four places for you to find the VIN. It may be under the engine block, on the dashboard (near the windshield), on the door frame (near left-hand inner wheel arch), and inside the driver's side door. The easiest way to see your VIN is by looking in through the windshield from outside the car, at the area where the hood meets the windshield. Alternatively, you can locate the VIN on the post of the driver's side door. Open the door and look around the area where the door latches to the car and you'll see it.
If you can't find the VIN on the vehicle, it should be printed on your vehicle's title or liability insurance documents.
How to use our VIN decoder?
To obtain an immediate report on your car's manufacturer, brand, make and model, body style, engine size, assembly factory, and model year, simply enter the 17-character Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) into the designated field. The data is sourced from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which collects information provided by manufacturers. Please note that the VIN Decoder lookup is applicable for vehicles produced from 1981 onwards. If your vehicle was manufactured prior to 1981, the VIN will likely consist of 11 characters.
What do all the characters in a VIN stand for?
A VIN consists of 17 numbers and letters which indicate a vehicle's detailed specs. A VIN can be divided into three parts: World Manufacturer Identifier (WMI code), Vehicle Descriptor Section (VDS), and the Vehicle Identifier Section (VIS).
World Manufacturer Identifier: The first character defines the country of the manufacturer or the final point of assembly of your vehicle. The second indicates the manufacturer and the region where your vehicle was produced. The third one, when coupled with the first two characters, indicates your vehicle's type or manufacturing division.
Vehicle Description Section: The fourth through eighth digits identify your vehicle's model, body type, engine code, and more. Service centers commonly use it to identify an automaker's systems in maintenance. The ninth character is the check digit to detect invalid VINs.
Vehicle Identifier Section: The tenth character indicates the car's model year, which only applies to vehicles built in or after 1981. The eleventh character identifies which manufacturing plant your vehicle was assembled at. Each manufacturer has its own plant codes. The twelfth through seventeenth characters are the unique serial number for the vehicle. It often indicates the sequence in which your vehicle came off of the assembly line. Each manufacturer can use it differently because there is no fixed standard for this number.
Why is the VIN important?
It is important to verify a vehicle's VIN because it is used by various data registries to document the vehicle's history. If you are considering purchasing a pre-owned car, you can perform a VIN lookup to access the vehicle history report, which includes information about previous owners, accidents, and repair records. Additionally, you can determine if the manufacturer ever issued a recall for the vehicle and whether the necessary repairs were completed. Lastly, law enforcement agencies conduct VIN checks to identify stolen vehicles.
Model Year Codes
| Code | Year | Code | Year | Code | Year | Code | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 1980 | L | 1990 | Y | 2000 | A | 2010 |
| B | 1981 | M | 1991 | 1 | 2001 | B | 2011 |
| C | 1982 | N | 1992 | 2 | 2002 | C | 2012 |
| D | 1983 | P | 1993 | 3 | 2003 | D | 2013 |
| E | 1984 | R | 1994 | 4 | 2004 | E | 2014 |
| F | 1985 | S | 1995 | 5 | 2005 | F | 2015 |
| G | 1986 | T | 1996 | 6 | 2006 | G | 2016 |
| H | 1987 | V | 1997 | 7 | 2007 | H | 2017 |
| J | 1988 | W | 1998 | 8 | 2008 | J | 2018 |
| K | 1989 | X | 1999 | 9 | 2009 | K | 2019 |
VIN Country Codes
The first three characters of every VIN number uniquely identify the manufacturer of the vehicle. This is called the World Manufacturer Identifier or WMI code.
| WMI | Region | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| A-H | Africa | AA-AH = South Africa |
| J-R | Asia | >J = Japan KL-KR = South Korea L = China MA-ME = India MF-MK = Indonesia ML-MR = Thailand MS = Myanmar PA-PE = Philippines PL-PR = Malaysia RF-RG = Taiwan |
| S-Z | Europe | SA-SM = United Kingdom SN-ST, W = Germany SU-SZ = Poland TA-TH = Switzerland TJ-TP = Czech Republic TR-TV = Hungary TW = Portugal VA-VE = Austria VF-VR = France VS-VW = Spain VX-V2 = Yugoslavia XL-XM = The Netherlands XS-XW = USSR X3-X0 = Russia YA-YE = Belgium YF-YK = Finland YS-YW = Sweden ZA-ZR = Italy |
| 1-5 | North America | 1, 4, 5 = United States 2 = Canada 3 = Mexico |
| 6-7 | Oceania | 6A-6W = Australia 7A-7E = New Zealand |
| 8-0 | South America | 8A-8E = Argentina 8F-8J = Chile 8X-82 = Venezuela 9A-9E, 93-99 = Brazil 9F-9J = Colombia |
Can I conduct a VIN search on an older car?
Starting from 1981, a uniform 17-character VIN has been assigned to every new car. Although older cars may also have VINs, they do not adhere to a standardized format until the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) finalizes the current 17-digit VIN.
Can a VIN lookup show my vehicle's specs?
Certainly! By using your vehicle's VIN number, you can obtain various specifications about your vehicle, such as: Year of manufacture, Manufacturer, Model, Trim level, Engine details, Country where it was made and Assembly plant location.
What if my VIN is less than 17 characters?
If your vehicle has a VIN with fewer than 17 characters, it is probably manufactured before 1981. We suggest using our VIN decoder exclusively for vehicles manufactured after 1981.