VIN decoder
Check a vehicle identification number and see the car’s model, engine, body, model year and where it was built. The VIN is decoded in your browser and never sent or stored.
What the 17 characters mean
| Position | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 1–3 | World manufacturer identifier (WMI): the first character is the region or country, the next two the maker. A 9 in third place marks a small maker, whose own code is in positions 12–14. |
| 4–8 | Vehicle description section: model, body, engine, restraints and so on, in the maker’s own code. |
| 9 | Check digit, calculated from the other 16 characters. Required in North America, optional elsewhere. |
| 10 | Model year code, if the maker uses it. |
| 11 | Assembly plant, in the maker’s own code. |
| 12–17 | Serial number of the vehicle. |
Model year codes
Position 10 repeats every 30 years. In North America, a letter in position 7 means 2010 or later, a digit 2009 or earlier.
| Code | Model years |
|---|---|
| A | 1980 · 2010 |
| B | 1981 · 2011 |
| C | 1982 · 2012 |
| D | 1983 · 2013 |
| E | 1984 · 2014 |
| F | 1985 · 2015 |
| G | 1986 · 2016 |
| H | 1987 · 2017 |
| J | 1988 · 2018 |
| K | 1989 · 2019 |
| L | 1990 · 2020 |
| M | 1991 · 2021 |
| N | 1992 · 2022 |
| P | 1993 · 2023 |
| R | 1994 · 2024 |
| S | 1995 · 2025 |
| T | 1996 · 2026 |
| V | 1997 · 2027 |
| W | 1998 |
| X | 1999 |
| Y | 2000 |
| 1 | 2001 |
| 2 | 2002 |
| 3 | 2003 |
| 4 | 2004 |
| 5 | 2005 |
| 6 | 2006 |
| 7 | 2007 |
| 8 | 2008 |
| 9 | 2009 |
Country and manufacturer codes come from the Wikibooks list of world manufacturer identifiers (CC BY-SA 4.0), which follows ISO 3780. The check digit and year codes follow ISO 3779 and the US rule 49 CFR Part 565. Wikibooks