A vehicle identification number (VIN; also called a chassis number or frame number) is a unique code, including a serial number, used by the automotive industry to identify individual motor vehicles, towed vehicles, motorcycles, scooters and mopeds, as defined by the International Organization for Standardization in ISO 3779 (content and structure) and ISO 4030 (location and attachment).
There are vehicle history services in several countries that help potential car owners use VINs to find vehicles that are defective or have been written off.
History VINs were first used in 1954 in the United States. From 1954 to 1965, there was no accepted standard for these numbers, so different manufacturers and even divisions within a manufacturer used different formats. Many were little more than a serial number. Starting in January 1966 the US government mandated that a 13-character VIN be used. This specification was phased in over several years. US manufacturers used them starting in January 1966; by January 1, 1969, all cars sold in the US were required to have the 13-character VIN. The 1966 US specification stated only that the year of manufacture, the engine type, and a unique six-digit number (making up the last six characters) were required—the individual manufacturers could use the remaining five spaces for whatever they liked. This was not much better than what was in use by some US manufacturers before 1966.
In 1981, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration of the United States standardized the format. It required all on-road vehicles sold to contain a 17-character VIN, which does not include the letters O (o), I (i), U (u) or Q (q) (to avoid confusion with numerals 0, 1, and 9). This was largely based on the ISO 3779 standard, but is more stringent.
After the introduction of the ISO standard, the manufacturers which produced vehicles for the American market very quickly adjusted to this standard. ISO introduced recommendations for applying the VIN standard and its structure, and the VIN was also used in Europe. However, the sets of information contained in it were introduced gradually. For example, Volkswagen started to encode bigger chunks of information during 1995–1997, and the control digit during 2009–2015 for selected models from the group. The VIN control digit is also used, although not in all brand-models. In the European vehicles, it can be found e.g. in Audi A1.
Classification There are at least four competing standards used to calculate the VIN. FMVSS 115, Part 565: Used in United States and Canada ISO 3779: Used in Europe and many other parts of the world SAE J853: Very similar to the ISO standard ADR 61/2 used in Australia, referring to ISO 3779 and 3780
Components Modern VINs are based on two related standards, originally issued by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in 1979 and 1980: ISO 3779ISO 3779:2009 Road vehicles—Vehicle identification number (VIN)—Content and structure and ISO 3780,ISO 3780:2009 Road vehicles—World manufacturer identifier (WMI) code respectively. Compatible but different implementations of these ISO standards have been adopted by the European Union and the United States.
The VIN consists of 17 characters, and only uses capital letters (excluding I, O and Q) and digits (0-9). It comprises the following sections:
Standard 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 91011121314151617ISO 3779World manufacturer identifierVehicle descriptor sectionVehicle identifier sectionEuropean Union more than 500 vehicles/yearWorld manufacturer identifierIndication of "the general characteristics of the vehicle"(VDS)Indication that provides "clear identification of a particular vehicle"(VIS)European Union 500 or fewer vehicles/yearWorld manufacturer identifier 9Indication of "the general characteristics of the vehicle"VIS(2of5)Manufacturer identifierVIS(3of5)North America more than 2,000 vehicles/yearWorld manufacturer identifierVehicle attributesCheck digitModel yearPlant codeSequential numberNorth America 2,000 or fewer vehicles/yearWorld manufacturer identifier 9Vehicle attributesCheck digitModel yearPlant codeManufacturer identifierSequential number
World manufacturer identifier The first three characters uniquely identify the manufacturer of the vehicle using the world manufacturer identifier or WMI code. A manufacturer who builds fewer than 1,000 vehicles per year uses a 9 as the third digit, and the 12th, 13th and 14th position of the VIN for a second part of the identification. Some manufacturers use the third character as a code for a vehicle category (e.g., bus or truck), a division within a manufacturer, or both. For example, within (assigned to General Motors in the United States), represents Chevrolet passenger cars; , Pontiac passenger cars; and , Chevrolet trucks.
The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) in the US assigns WMIs to countries and manufacturers.
The first character of the WMI is typically the region in which the manufacturer is located. In practice, each is assigned to a country of manufacture, although in Europe the country where the continental headquarters is located can assign the WMI to all vehicles produced in that region. (Example: When Adam Opel AG was still with General Motors, Opel/Vauxhall cars designed in that era used to carry a "German" WMI (e.g. W0L, W0V), because Adam Opel AG was based in Rüsselsheim, Germany, no matter if vehicles were produced in Germany, Spain, the United Kingdom, Poland or South Korea. When Opel changed hands and became part of PSA, this changed for newer models, which obtained "French" WMIs.)
Company mergers and acquisitions can lead to seemingly confusing allocations. For instance, Stellantis, the result of the merger of PSA (France) and FCA (Italy), is technically a Dutch corporation headquartered in Amsterdam. VINs of European-made vehicles or their brands, though, still carry WMIs from France and Italy. Additionally, it may not be immediately obvious what particular local subsidiary of the corporation manages type approvals of vehicles and application for WMIs, since this does not necessarily depend on the perceived country association of the respective brand. For example, in at least one case, a model that was newly released years after the merger by an Italian brand (ex-FCA) carries VINs with new French WMIs (the 2024 Lancia Ypsilon – incidentally manufactured in Spain). It is to be expected that assignment policies of this kind, often for unpublished reasons, can be found at other manufacturers as well.
In the notation below, assume that letters precede numbers and that zero is the last number. For example, 8X–82 denotes the range 8X, 8Y, 8Z, 81, 82, excluding 80.
Country or region codes , ISO specifies the following codes per country:
A–C = AfricaH–R = AsiaE, S–Z = Europe1–5, 7 = North America6 = Oceania8–9 = South AmericaAA-AH South Africa AJ-AK Côte d'Ivoire AL-AM Lesotho AN-AP Botswana AR-AS Namibia AT-AU Madagascar AV-AW Mauritius AX-AY Tunisia AZ-A1 Cyprus A2-A3 Zimbabwe A4-A5 Mozambique BA-BB Angola BC Ethiopia BF-BG Kenya BH Rwanda BL Nigeria BR Algeria BT Swaziland BU Uganda B3-B4 Libya CA-CB Egypt CF-CG Morocco CL-CM ZambiaH China J Japan KF-KH Israel KL-KR South Korea KS-KT Jordan K1-K3 South Korea K5 Kyrgyzstan L China MA-ME India MF-MK Indonesia ML-MR Thailand MS Myanmar MU Mongolia MX Kazakhstan MY-M0 India NA-NE Iran NF-NG Pakistan NJ Iraq NL-NR Turkey NS-NT Uzbekistan NV Azerbaijan NX Tajikistan NY Armenia N1-N5 Iran N7-N8 Turkey PA-PC Philippines PF-PG Singapore PL-PR Malaysia PS-PT Bangladesh PV Cambodia P5-P0 India RA-RB United Arab Emirates RF-RK Taiwan RL-RN Vietnam RP Laos RS-RT Saudi Arabia R1-R7 Hong KongE Russia SA-SM United Kingdom SN-ST Germany (former East Germany) SU-SZ Poland S1-S2 Latvia S3 Georgia S4 Iceland TA-TH Switzerland TJ-TP Czech Republic TR-TV Hungary TW-T2 Portugal T3-T5 Serbia T6 Andorra T7-T8 Netherlands UA-UC Spain UH-UM Denmark UN-UR Ireland UU-UX Romania U1-U2 North Macedonia U5-U7 Slovakia U8-U0 Bosnia and Herzegovina VA-VE Austria VF-VR France VS-VW Spain VX-V2 France V3-V5 Croatia V6-V8 Estonia W Germany (former West Germany) XA-XC Bulgaria XD-XE Russia XF-XH Greece XJ-XK Russia XL-XR Netherlands XS-XW Russia (former USSR) XX-XY Luxembourg XZ-X1 Russia YA-YE Belgium YF-YK Finland YN Malta YS-YW Sweden YX-Y2 Norway Y3-Y5 Belarus Y6-Y9 Ukraine ZA-ZU Italy ZX-ZZ Slovenia Z1 San Marino Z3-Z5 Lithuania Z6-Z0 Russia1 United States 2 Canada 3A-3X Mexico 34 Nicaragua 35 Dominican Republic 36 Honduras 37 Panama 38-39 Puerto Rico 4 United States 5 United States 7 United States6 Australia 6Y-61 New Zealand8A-8E Argentina 8F-8G Chile 8L-8N Ecuador 8S-8W Peru 8X-8Z Venezuela 82 Bolivia 84 Costa Rica 9A-9E Brazil 9F-9G Colombia 9S-9V Uruguay 91–90 Brazil
Vehicle descriptor section The fourth to ninth positions in the VIN are the vehicle descriptor section or VDS. This is used, according to local regulations, to identify the vehicle type, and may include information on the automobile platform used, the model, and the body style. Each manufacturer has a unique system for using this field. Most manufacturers since the 1980s have used the eighth digit to identify the engine type whenever there is more than one engine choice for the vehicle. Example: for the 2007 Chevrolet Corvette (C6 Vette), U is for a 6.0-liter V8 engine, and E is for a 7.0-liter V8.
North American check digits One element that is inconsistent is the use of position nine as a check digit, compulsory for vehicles in North America and China, but not so in Europe.
Vehicle identifier section The 10th to 17th positions are used as the vehicle identifier section or VIS. This is used by the manufacturer to identify the individual vehicle in question. This may include information on options installed or engine and transmission choices, but often is a simple sequential number.
Model year encoding The North American implementation of the VIS uses the 10th digit to encode the model year of the vehicle. Besides the three letters that are not allowed in the VIN itself (I, O and Q), the letters U and Z and the digit 0 are not used for the model year code. Outside of North America the 10th digit is usually 0.
The year 1980 was encoded by some manufacturers, especially General Motors and Chrysler, as "A" (since the 17-digit VIN was not mandatory until 1981, and the "A" or zero was in the manufacturer's pre-1981 placement in the VIN), yet Ford and AMC still used a zero for 1980. Subsequent years increment through the allowed letters, so that "Y" represents the year 2000. 2001 to 2009 are encoded as the digits 1 to 9, and subsequent years are encoded as "A", "B", "C", etc.
Code Year Code Year Code Year Code Year Code Year Code Year A 1980 L 1990 Y 2000 A 2010 L 2020 Y 2030 B 1981 M 1991 1 2001 B 2011 M 2021 1 2031 C 1982 N 1992 2 2002 C 2012 N 2022 2 2032 D 1983 P 1993 3 2003 D 2013 P 2023 3 2033 E 1984 R 1994 4 2004 E 2014 R 2024 4 2034 F 1985 S 1995 5 2005 F 2015 S 2025 5 2035 G 1986 T 1996 6 2006 G 2016 T 2026 6 2036 H 1987 V 1997 7 2007 H 2017 V 2027 7 2037 J 1988 W 1998 8 2008 J 2018 W 2028 8 2038 K 1989 X 1999 9 2009 K 2019 X 2029 9 2039
On April 30, 2008, the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration adopted a final rule amending 49 CFR Part 565, "so that the current 17 character vehicle identification number (VIN) system, which has been in place for almost 30 years, can continue in use for at least another 30 years", in the process making several changes to the VIN requirements applicable to all motor vehicles manufactured for sale in the United States. There were three notable changes to the VIN structure that affect VIN deciphering systems: The make may only be identified after looking at positions one through three and another position, as determined by the manufacturer in the second section or fourth to eighth segment of the VIN.