Free Tool

Free VIN Decoder: Every Make

Decode any 17-character VIN against the official NHTSA vPIC database, year, make, model, trim, plant, engine, and more. Free, instant, no signup. Make-specific decoders below for 41 brands including motorcycles and EVs.

Free Tool

VIN Decoder

Decode any 17-character VIN against the official NHTSA vPIC database, year, make, model, trim, plant, engine, and more.

0/17 characters✓ Free forever · Decodes via NHTSA vPIC · No email required

For full vehicle history (title brands, salvage, recalls, market value), get the report for $9.99

Free decode vs full report

The free decoder covers how a vehicle was built. The $9.99 report covers what happened to it.

Comparison of the free VIN decoder and the $9.99 vehicle history report
What you getFree VIN decodeReport ($9.99)
Full factory specsIncludedIncluded
Safety and driver-assist equipmentIncludedIncluded
VIN check-digit validationIncludedIncluded
Open safety recallsModel-level list (free tool)VIN-specific completion status
Title brandsNot includedIncluded
Odometer historyNot includedIncluded
Salvage and theft recordsNot includedIncluded
LiensNot includedIncluded
Market valueNot includedIncluded
Plain-English summaryNot includedIncluded
CostFree$9.99, one report, no subscription, no account

How a VIN works

A Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) is the 17-character serial number assigned to every car, light truck, and motorcycle sold in the United States since 1981. It is the single most durable way to identify a specific vehicle. License plates change, titles get reissued, owners come and go, the VIN stays with the car for its entire life. Federal law (49 CFR Part 565) defines the structure, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) maintains the public vPIC database that decodes it.

The 17 characters break into three parts. The WMI (World Manufacturer Identifier, positions 1-3) identifies the country and the manufacturer. A VIN starting with 1, 4, or 5 was built in the United States; 2 is Canada; 3 is Mexico; J is Japan; K is South Korea; W is Germany; Y is Sweden or Finland. The VDS (Vehicle Descriptor Section, positions 4-8) encodes body style, engine, restraint system, and other manufacturer-specific attributes. The VIS (Vehicle Identifier Section, positions 9-17) carries the check digit, model year, plant code, and the unique six-digit production sequence.

Position-by-position

  • Positions 1-3 (WMI): country and manufacturer
  • Positions 4-8 (VDS): body, engine, restraint system, model line
  • Position 9 (Check digit): ISO 3779 validation, a mathematical hash of the other 16 characters
  • Position 10 (Model year): single letter or digit from the cycling 30-year table below
  • Position 11 (Plant code): the specific assembly plant
  • Positions 12-17 (Serial): unique production sequence number

The position-7 rule

For passenger vehicles, the character in position 7 tells you whether the model year in position 10 belongs to the older or newer half of the 30-year cycle. If position 7 is a letter, the model year is 2010 or later. If it is a digit, the model year is 2009 or earlier. This resolves the ambiguity of the 30-year letter table, for example, A in position 10 could mean 1980 or 2010, and position 7 settles it.

Model year codes

Position 10 cycles through 30 codes. Letters I, O, Q, U, Z, and 0 are never used. They are too easy to confuse with other characters.

CodeYearCodeYear
A1980 / 2010S1995 / 2025
B1981 / 2011T1996 / 2026
C1982 / 2012V1997 / 2027
D1983 / 2013W1998 / 2028
E1984 / 2014X1999 / 2029
F1985 / 2015Y2000 / 2030
G1986 / 201612001 / 2031
H1987 / 201722002 / 2032
J1988 / 201832003 / 2033
K1989 / 201942004 / 2034
L1990 / 202052005 / 2035
M1991 / 202162006 / 2036
N1992 / 202272007 / 2037
P1993 / 202382008 / 2038
R1994 / 202492009 / 2039

Where to find the VIN

On most cars and light trucks the VIN is visible through the windshield at the lower driver-side corner of the dashboard, and stamped again on a sticker inside the driver-side door jamb. It also appears on the registration, the insurance card, and the title. On motorcycles, the VIN is stamped on the steering neck and on the frame near the engine, never on a sticker, since stickers fall off bikes.

Decoding tells you what a vehicle is. To see what has happened to it, title brands, salvage history, odometer records, and open recalls, get the full report for $9.99.

Make-Specific Decoders

All 41 makes

Each page covers that brand's WMI codes, model year decoding, common red flags, recall context, and a sample VIN walkthrough.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

A Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) is a 17-character serial number assigned to every passenger vehicle, light truck, and motorcycle sold in the United States since 1981. It encodes the country of origin, the manufacturer, vehicle attributes like body and engine, a check digit, the model year, the assembly plant, and a unique production sequence. The VIN is the single most reliable way to identify a specific vehicle, license plates and titles change, but the VIN follows the car for life.
Decoding a VIN to see what the characters mean (year, make, model, plant, engine, body class) is free. That data comes from the public NHTSA vPIC database and we surface it on this page at no cost. A full vehicle history report (title brands, salvage and theft records, odometer history, and open recalls) is a different product and costs $9.99 flat on TitlePull.
A VIN check (or VIN decoder) just translates the 17 characters into year, make, model, and factory data. A vehicle history report pulls title, brand, odometer, salvage, and theft records from NMVTIS (the federal title database) for that specific car. The decoder tells you what the car is; the report tells you what has happened to it. See our full breakdown at /guides/vin-check-vs-title-check.
On most cars and trucks, the VIN is visible through the windshield at the lower driver-side corner of the dashboard. It is also stamped on a sticker inside the driver-side door jamb, and printed on the registration, insurance card, and title. On motorcycles, the VIN is usually stamped on the steering neck and on the frame near the engine.
Characters 1-3 are the World Manufacturer Identifier (WMI). The first character identifies the country of final assembly (1, 4, and 5 are the United States; 2 is Canada; 3 is Mexico; J is Japan; K is South Korea; W is Germany; Y is Sweden or Finland). The second and third characters identify the manufacturer and vehicle category. So a VIN starting with 1HG is a Honda built in the United States; JTD is a Toyota built in Japan.
A VIN decode by itself does not show accidents. It only shows what the car was when it left the factory. Accidents may appear in a vehicle history report if they triggered a title brand (salvage, rebuilt, junk) or if the insurer reported the loss to NMVTIS. Minor accidents that were paid out of pocket typically do not appear in any database.
Yes. Positions 4 through 8 encode the engine family, and the NHTSA vPIC database returns the engine model or code, displacement in liters, cylinder count, fuel type, and horsepower where the manufacturer filed it. Decode your VIN above and open the "Engine and mechanical" group to see every engine field vPIC has on file for that vehicle.
Trim is part of the Vehicle Descriptor Section (positions 4 to 8), but not every automaker files trim with NHTSA. When the manufacturer submitted it, the decoder shows the trim and series directly in the highlight cards. When it comes back blank, the build sheet from a dealer or the window sticker is the reliable fallback, since the VIN itself never carries options packages or dealer-added equipment.
Cylinder count is one of the standard vPIC fields, so the decoder reports it whenever the automaker filed it: 4, 6, 8, and so on. It appears in the highlight row next to displacement and fuel type. Electric vehicles return no cylinder count, which is expected rather than an error.
Position 10 is the model year code. It cycles through a 30-character table, so the letter S means 1995 or 2025 and the digit 5 means 2005 or 2035. Position 7 breaks the tie for passenger cars: a letter in position 7 means 2010 or later, a digit means 2009 or earlier. The decoder resolves this for you and shows the exact model year.
Position 9 is the ISO 3779 check digit, a mathematical hash of the other 16 characters. Every North American VIN since 1981 carries one. Our decoder recalculates it and shows a pass or fail badge with the result written out in text, so a VIN that was mistyped, misread from a photo, or altered on a document will flag as failing the check-digit test.
The most common cause is a character that cannot legally appear in a VIN. The letters I, O, and Q are never used, because they are too easy to confuse with the digits 1 and 0. If you typed one, replace it with the digit it resembles. Other causes: fewer or more than 17 characters, a pre-1981 vehicle that predates the standardized format, or an imported or specialty vehicle the manufacturer never filed with NHTSA.
No. A decode needs all 17 characters, because the check digit in position 9 is calculated from every other character and the plant and sequence data sits at the end. A short number such as a 7 or 8 digit figure is usually an engine number, a key code, or a chassis number from a pre-1981 vehicle, not a VIN. Find the full 17-character VIN on the dashboard, the door jamb, the title, or the insurance card.
On a motorcycle, the VIN is stamped into the steering neck under the handlebars and often repeated on the frame near the engine or on the engine case. Bikes do not use door-jamb stickers, since stickers do not survive weather. On a trailer, look on the tongue or the front left frame rail, usually on a riveted plate. Both are also printed on the title and registration.
The first character of the VIN is the country of final assembly. 1, 4, and 5 are the United States; 2 is Canada; 3 is Mexico; J is Japan; K is South Korea; L is China; S is the United Kingdom; V is France or Spain; W is Germany; Y is Sweden or Finland; and Z is Italy. Note this is where the vehicle was assembled, which is not always where the brand is headquartered.
A VIN decode is free and factory-only: it translates the 17 characters into year, make, model, engine, plant, and safety equipment. A vehicle history report is a paid $9.99 lookup of that specific car in the federal NMVTIS title database, covering title brands, odometer readings, salvage and theft records, liens, market value, and a plain-English summary. The decode tells you what the vehicle is; the report tells you what has happened to it.

Get the full history: $9.99

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