National Reference Tables

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)

Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance

1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building, Washington, DC 20590

888.327.4236 or 877.561.7439 TTY

History Of The Vin

Since 1954, a VIN has been used by American auto manufacturers to describe and identify each motor vehicle manufactured. Early VINs came in different configurations depending on the manufacturer. NHTSA manages the standard of how VINs are applied within the United States.

Beginning January 1, 1969, each passenger car was required to have a VIN permanently embossed on a part of the vehicle visible through the windshield of the vehicle. Manufacturers were required to avoid having a VIN repeated within a 10-year period.

Beginning with the 1980 model year, NHTSA required all new over-the-road vehicles sold must contain a standardized 17-digit VIN structure. The standard further required that the VINs of any two vehicles manufactured within a 30-year period not be identical. The VIN of each vehicle must appear clearly and indelibly upon either a part of the vehicle, other than the glazing, that is not designed to be removed except for repair or upon a separate plate or label that is permanently affixed to such part.

Effective May 16, 2008, a final rule changed the VIN system requiring the VINs of any two vehicles manufactured within a 60-year period beginning with the 1980 model year cannot be identical.

The VIN is the identifying code for a specific automobile. The VIN consists of four sections that are grouped accordingly:

1. The first section consists of three characters that occupy positions 1-3 in the VIN. This section identifies the manufacturer and type of vehicle.

2. The second section consists of five characters that occupy positions 4-8 in the VIN. This section identifies the attributes of the vehicle.

3. The third section consists of one character that occupies position nine in the VIN. This section is the check digit.

4. The fourth section consists of eight characters that occupy positions 10-17 of the VIN.

Vin Description

1st Character-Identifies the country in which the vehicle was manufactured. The regions are as follows: North America (1-5), Oceana (6-7), South America (8-9). Africa (A-H), Asia (J-R), Europe (S-Z); for example: USA (1, 4 or 5), Canada (2), Mexico (3), Australia (6), Brazil (9), Japan (J), Korea (K), China (L), Germany (W), Russia (X).

2nd Character-Identifies the manufacturer.

3rd Character-Identifies vehicle type or manufacturing division.

4th to 8th Characters-Identifies the vehicle attributes such as make, model or line, series, chassis, cab type, body type, engine type, brake system, net brake horsepower, all restraint devices and their location, GVWR, model, etc. Trailers also include length and axle configuration.

9th Character-Provides a means for verifying the accuracy of the transcription of the vehicle identification number.

10th Character-Identifies the model year, i.e., 1986 (G), 1987 (H), 1988 (J), 1989 (K), 1990 (L), 1991 (M), 1992 (N), 1993 (P), 1994 (R), 1995 (S), 1996 (T), 1997 (V), 1998 (W), 1999 (X), 2000 (Y), 2001 (1), 2002 (2), 2003 (3), 2004 (4), 2005 (5), 2006 (6), 2007 (7), 2008 (8), 2009 (9), 2010 (A), 2011 (B), 2012 (C), 2013 (D), 2014 (E), 2015 (F), 2016 (G), 2017 (H), 2018 (J), 2019 (K), 2020 (L), 2021 (M), 2022 (N), 2023 (P), 2024 (R), 2025 (S), 2026 (T), 2027 (V), 2028 (W), 2029 (X), 2030 (Y), 2031 (1), 2032 (2), 2033 (3), 2034 (4), etc.

11th Character-Identifies the plant of manufacture.

12th to 17th Characters-Represents the number sequentially assigned by the manufacturer in the production process.

How The Check Digit Works

The ninth digit is a VIN accuracy check digit, verifying the previous VIN numbers.

Step 1-Assign to each number in the VIN its actual mathematical value and assign to each letter the value specified for it in the following chart:

Step 2-Multiply the assigned value for each character in the VIN by the position weight factor specified in the following chart:

Step 3-Add the resulting products from steps 1 and 2 and divide the total by 11.

Step 4-The numerical remainder is the check digit, which would appear in the 9th position in the VIN. If the remainder is 10, then the letter “X” is used for the check digit.

Vin Locations

The most common places VINs are located on a vehicle are on the door frame/door post of the front doors (usually driver side door); the dash near the windshield on the driver’s side; the engine; the firewall; the left-hand inner wheel arch; the steering wheel/column; and the radiator support bracket.

Vin Decoding

NHTSA’s vPIC platform serves as a centralized source for basic Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) decoding, Manufacturer Information Database (MID), Manufacturer Equipment Plate Identification, and associated data. vPIC is intended for use on model years 1981 and forward. Data represents vehicles intended for sale or importation into the United States.