Official NHTSA data
Free VIN decoder
Paste a VIN to see what the manufacturer recorded about the car, plus any open safety recalls.
Free VIN decoder
- Paste the 17-character VIN
- Press Decode
- Read specs & recalls
How to read a VIN
| Position | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 1–3 | World Manufacturer Identifier (country and maker) |
| 4–8 | Vehicle descriptor: model, body, engine, restraint system |
| 9 | Check digit (catches typos) |
| 10 | Model year code |
| 11 | Assembly plant |
| 12–17 | Production serial number |
VINs never use the letters I, O or Q, so they can't be confused with 1 and 0. If a seller's VIN contains them, it has been mistyped — or worse.
Questions people ask
Where does the VIN data come from?
From NHTSA's vPIC (Product Information Catalog) — the official U.S. Department of Transportation decoder fed by manufacturers — and NHTSA's recalls database.
Does the VIN decoder work for older cars?
17-character VINs became standard for 1981 model year vehicles. Older VINs are shorter and can't be decoded by vPIC.
Why are some fields blank?
Manufacturers report different levels of detail. Common fields like make, model, year and body class are almost always present; options and trim can be missing.
What's the 9th digit?
The check digit. It's calculated from the other 16 characters, so a typo in a VIN usually fails the check — we flag that for you.