US buyer guide
How to read a VIN: what each of the 17 characters means
Every car, SUV and light truck sold in the US since the early 1980s has a 17-character vehicle identification number. It is laid out by federal rule (49 CFR Part 565), so once you know the four sections you can read the maker, model year and plant yourself and spot a VIN that has been copied down wrong.
Sample reports:2023 Ford F-1502022 Chevy Silverado2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee2021 BMW X32003 Honda Accord
The 17 characters, position by position
Example: 1HGCM82633A004352, a 2003 Honda Accord. You can open its full report or decode your own VIN.
| Positions | Section | Example | What it means |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1–3 | World manufacturer identifier (WMI) | 1HG | Who built the vehicle and what type it is. Assigned to the manufacturer; the first character usually points to the country or region (1, 4 and 5 for the United States, 2 Canada, 3 Mexico, J Japan, K Korea, W Germany). A 9 in position 3 means a small manufacturer whose identifier continues in positions 12–14. |
| 4–8 | Vehicle descriptor section (VDS) | CM826 | Attributes chosen by the manufacturer. For a passenger car the rule requires make, line, series, body type, engine type and restraint devices to be decodable; trucks also add things like GVWR and brake system. Each maker uses its own codes. |
| 9 | Check digit | 3 | A number (or X) calculated from the other 16 characters so typos can be caught. See the math below. |
| 10 | Model year | 3 | One character from a fixed 30-year table. Position 7 tells you which cycle: a number means 1980–2009, a letter means 2010–2039 (cars, SUVs and light trucks). |
| 11 | Plant | A | The assembly plant, using the manufacturer’s own code. |
| 12–17 | Production sequence | 004352 | The serial number the manufacturer assigned on the line. For cars and light trucks the last five characters must be numbers. |
Only capital letters and digits are allowed, never I, O or Q, and every one of the 17 positions must be filled. NHTSA publishes the manufacturer identifiers and each maker’s decoding information in its vPIC database, which is where our decoder gets the year, make, model, engine and plant.
The check digit: catching a mistyped VIN
Position 9 is calculated from the other 16 characters. Each letter gets a number (A=1, B=2 … H=8, J=1 … R=9, S=2 … Z=9), each position has a weight, and the products are added up and divided by 11. The remainder is the check digit; a remainder of 10 is written as X.
| Position | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Character | 1 | H | G | C | M | 8 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 3 | A | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 2 |
| Value | 1 | 8 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 8 | 2 | 6 | – | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 2 |
| Weight | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 10 | 0 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 |
| Product | 8 | 56 | 42 | 15 | 16 | 24 | 4 | 60 | 0 | 27 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 12 | 15 | 4 |
For the example the products add up to 311. 311 ÷ 11 leaves a remainder of 3, so the check digit is 3, which matches position 9. If you copy one character wrong, the math almost always stops matching, which is why a VIN decoder can tell you a VIN is invalid before looking anything up.
Model year table (position 10)
The year code repeats every 30 years. For cars, SUVs and light trucks, look at position 7: a number means the first column, a letter means the second. In the example, position 7 is 2 (a number) and position 10 is 3, so the model year is 2003. Model year is not always the calendar year the car was built.
| Code | Position 7 is a number | Position 7 is a letter |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | 2028 |
| X | 1999 | 2029 |
| Y | 2000 | 2030 |
| 1 | 2001 | 2031 |
| 2 | 2002 | 2032 |
| 3 | 2003 | 2033 |
| 4 | 2004 | 2034 |
| 5 | 2005 | 2035 |
| 6 | 2006 | 2036 |
| 7 | 2007 | 2037 |
| 8 | 2008 | 2038 |
| 9 | 2009 | 2039 |
The letters U and Z and the number 0 are never used as year codes. Vehicles over 10,000 lb GVWR and many vehicles built for markets outside North America don’t follow the position 7 rule, so a decoder may need the rest of the VIN to tell the cycles apart.
What a VIN can’t tell you
- Options and paint. Packages, colors and dealer add-ons are generally not encoded. Use the window sticker lookup or a build sheet by brand.
- History. The VIN is the key to records, not the record. Accidents, title brands, theft and mileage live in other databases; see the used car checklist by VIN.
- Whether it is genuine. A valid check digit doesn’t rule out a cloned VIN copied from a legal car. Our stolen car check guide covers matching the VIN on the dash, the door label and the title.
Putting the VIN to work
The most useful free thing you can do with a VIN is check it for open safety recalls. NHTSA’s recall search and our free recall check both take the 17 characters, and recall repairs are free at the dealer. Read how to check recalls by VIN for the steps, and run the NICB VINCheck for insurer theft and salvage records.
FAQ
Where do I find the VIN on a car?
For cars, SUVs and light trucks, federal rules require the VIN to be readable through the windshield from outside, at the lower driver’s-side corner where the dashboard meets the glass. It is also on the certification label on the driver’s door or door pillar, and on the title, registration and insurance card.
Why are there no I, O or Q in a VIN?
The federal rule (49 CFR 565.13) lists the allowed letters, and I, O and Q are not among them. That avoids confusion with the numbers 1 and 0. If you see one of them, it is almost certainly a 1 or a 0.
What year is a VIN with T in the 10th position?
T is 2026 when position 7 is a letter, as it is on cars, SUVs and light trucks built for the 2010–2039 cycle. On an older vehicle with a number in position 7, T means 1996. The full table is above.
Can a VIN tell me the trim, options or paint color?
Not reliably. The VIN encodes the line, series, body, engine and restraints, but options packages and paint are usually not in it. For those, look up the original window sticker or build sheet.
Does a valid check digit mean the VIN is genuine?
No. The check digit only catches transcription mistakes. A cloned car carries a copy of another car’s real VIN, so its check digit is valid. Match the VIN on the dash, the door label and the title, and run a theft check.
Sources
- 49 CFR 565.13: VIN general requirements (17 characters, check digit, allowed letters, location)
- 49 CFR 565.15: VIN content requirements (sections, check digit calculation, model year codes)
- NHTSA vPIC: VIN decoder and manufacturer identifier (WMI) data
- NHTSA: Check for recalls (VIN search, owner notification, roles in the recall process)
- NICB VINCheck: free theft and salvage check
Published 2026-10-22. Car Codebook is independent and not affiliated with NHTSA or any manufacturer. This guide is general information, not legal advice. Spotted an error? Email hello@carcodebook.com.
Related
- Used car buying checklist: what to check with the VINTen checks before you pay: VIN match, decode, recalls, title brands, theft, odometer, sticker and inspection.
- How to check if a car is stolen by VINThe free NICB theft check, what it misses, cloned VINs, matching the VIN to the title and private-sale red flags.
- How to check recalls by VINFour steps: find the VIN, list NHTSA campaigns for the model year, confirm open recalls on your car, schedule the free remedy.