Decoding a VIN: what the 17 characters mean

At first glance, a VIN looks like a random string. In fact it follows an international standard (ISO 3779). Once you know the structure, the number itself already tells you quite a lot about the vehicle. Not sure where to find it? See Where to find the VIN.

The three parts of a VIN

• Positions 1–3: WMI (World Manufacturer Identifier)
• Positions 4–9: VDS (Vehicle Descriptor Section)
• Positions 10–17: VIS (Vehicle Identifier Section)

Positions 1–3: manufacturer and country of origin

The first character indicates the region: S to Z for Europe, J to R for Asia, 1 to 5 for North America. Together with the second character it gives the country – W for Germany, VF to VR for France, Z for Italy, TA to TH for Switzerland.

The first three characters together identify the manufacturer, for example:

• WVW – Volkswagen
• WAU – Audi
• WBA – BMW
• WDD / W1K – Mercedes-Benz
• TMB – Škoda (Czech Republic)
• VF1 – Renault
• ZFA – Fiat
• YV1 – Volvo

Important: the country shows where the manufacturer or plant is registered – not which market the car was built for. More on this in Spotting direct and parallel imports.

Positions 4–9: vehicle description

Each manufacturer uses its own scheme here – typically model line, body style or engine. There is no universal table, which is why simple decoders usually only give rough information for this part.

For vehicles built for North America and China, position 9 is a check digit calculated from the other 16 characters to catch typos. In Europe it is not mandatory and many manufacturers do not use it.

Positions 10–17: model year, plant and serial number

• Position 10 – model year: mandatory in North America and common with many manufacturers in Europe (Volkswagen Group, Ford, Volvo, Hyundai, Kia). The codes repeat every 30 years: A = 1980 or 2010, L = 2020, R = 2024, S = 2025, T = 2026; digits 1–9 = 2001–2009.
• Position 11 – plant: the production plant code.
• Positions 12–17 – serial number: the sequential number of the individual vehicle.

Watch out: some manufacturers, such as Mercedes-Benz or BMW, do not use position 10 as the model year outside North America. Applying a table blindly gives the wrong year. What counts is the first registration date in the registration document (field 36).

Decode a VIN for free

No need to memorise the tables: our free VIN decoder instantly shows the manufacturer, country of origin, model year (where encoded), plant code and check-digit result – right in your browser, no sign-up.

What a VIN does not reveal

The number uniquely identifies a vehicle, but says nothing about the equipment chosen when it was ordered: packages, driver assistance, leather, panoramic roof. That information sits with the manufacturer and can only be retrieved with a professional lookup. See Finding a car’s optional equipment by VIN.