How to read a VIN number, one character at a time
Every car and light truck sold in the U.S. since the 1981 model year carries a 17-character vehicle identification number, and the layout is set by federal regulation. Once you know the map, you can read the maker, the model year, and the factory straight off the dashboard plate, and you can tell when a VIN on a title has been copied wrong.
The three parts of a VIN
The rules live in 49 CFR 565.15, published by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). They split the 17 characters into four sections, though most people think of it as three: who made it, what it is, and which one it is.
| Position | What it identifies |
|---|---|
| 1 to 3 | World manufacturer identifier: the maker and vehicle type. The first character usually points to the country of the maker (1, 4, or 5 for the U.S., 2 for Canada, 3 for Mexico, J for Japan, K for Korea, W for Germany) |
| 4 to 8 | Vehicle descriptor: model, body style, engine, restraint system, and similar attributes, as the maker codes them |
| 9 | Check digit, calculated from the other 16 characters |
| 10 | Model year |
| 11 | Assembly plant |
| 12 to 17 | Production sequence (the serial number) |
Only some letters are allowed. Under 49 CFR 565.13, a VIN uses the digits 0 to 9 and every capital letter except I, O, and Q. That rule exists so nobody reads a 1 as an I or a 0 as an O. If you see one of those three letters in a VIN on paper, someone made a copying error.
Small manufacturers follow a slightly different pattern. A maker that builds few vehicles puts a 9 in position 3, and positions 12 to 14 then finish identifying the company. You will see this on some trailers, kit cars, and specialty vehicles.
Decoding the model year
Position 10 holds a one-character year code that repeats every 30 years. The letters U and Z and the number 0 are left out of this spot, on top of I, O, and Q.
| Code | Year | Code | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 2010 | L | 2020 |
| B | 2011 | M | 2021 |
| C | 2012 | N | 2022 |
| D | 2013 | P | 2023 |
| E | 2014 | R | 2024 |
| F | 2015 | S | 2025 |
| G | 2016 | T | 2026 |
| H | 2017 | V | 2027 |
| J | 2018 | W | 2028 |
| K | 2019 | X | 2029 |
The same letters covered 1980 to 2000 the first time around, and the digits 1 to 9 stood for 2001 to 2009. So how do you tell a 1995 from a 2025, since both use S? For passenger cars and for trucks and SUVs rated at 10,000 pounds or less, look at position 7. Federal rules make it a letter on newer vehicles. A letter in position 7 means the year falls in 2010 to 2039. A number there means 1980 to 2009.
How the check digit catches typos
Position 9 is a small piece of math. Each letter gets a number value (A is 1, B is 2, and so on, with a few skips), each position gets a weight, and the weighted values are added up. Divide the total by 11. The remainder is the check digit, and a remainder of 10 becomes the letter X.
Here is the sample VIN 1HGCM82633A004352 worked through. The weights for positions 1 to 17 are 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 10, 0, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2. Multiplying each character's value by its weight and adding gives 311. Then 311 divided by 11 is 28 with 3 left over, and the 9th character is 3. The VIN passes.
The same sample also shows the year trick. Position 7 is the number 2, so position 10, a 3, means 2003. Position 11, an A, is the plant code.
You will rarely do this by hand. The point is that one wrong character almost always breaks the math, which is why a free decoder will flag a VIN that was mistyped on a title application or a bill of sale.
Where to find the VIN and what to do with it
On most cars the VIN shows through the windshield on the driver's side of the dashboard and on a label in the driver's door jamb. It also appears on the title, the registration card, and insurance cards. Those should all match. If they don't, stop and sort it out before money changes hands. Our guide to VIN checks and odometer verification covers the history reports that show title brands, theft records, and mileage problems.
To read what the VIN says about the vehicle itself, NHTSA's free VIN decoder pulls the data manufacturers report: make, model, year, body, engine, and plant. It will not tell you whether the car was wrecked or flooded. That takes a history report.
Cars older than the 1981 model year are a different story. Their VINs were often shorter, and each maker picked its own format, so a 13-digit number on a 1970s car is normal. Our guide to antique and classic title rules explains how states handle them.
When you write a bill of sale, copy the VIN from the car, not from the seller's notes, and read it back character by character. A single swapped digit can stall the title transfer at the DMV and send both of you back to redo the paperwork.