How to Read a VIN Number

A Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) is a 17-character code that serves as a fingerprint for every car, truck, and SUV on the road. Each character carries specific meaning. This guide breaks down every position so you can read any VIN at a glance.

The Three Sections of a VIN

Every VIN is divided into three distinct sections defined by ISO standards 3779 and 3780. Understanding these sections is the first step to reading any VIN.

1. World Manufacturer Identifier (WMI) - Positions 1 to 3

The WMI identifies who built the vehicle. Manufacturer identifiers are issued in geographic blocks, so the first character also tells you which country the manufacturer is registered in: US manufacturers hold 1, 4, and 5, Canadian ones 2, Mexican ones 3. Japan uses J, Germany W, South Korea K, and the United Kingdom S. The section below covers what that does — and does not — prove about where a specific car was assembled.

The second character identifies the manufacturer. G stands for General Motors, F for Ford, T for Toyota, H for Honda, and so on. The third character narrows things further, specifying the vehicle type or the division within the manufacturer. Together, these three characters let you immediately identify the origin and maker of any vehicle.

2. Vehicle Descriptor Section (VDS) - Positions 4 to 8

The VDS encodes vehicle-specific attributes. These five characters describe the body style, engine type, model line, series, and restraint system. The exact meaning of each position varies by manufacturer because automakers have some flexibility in how they assign these codes.

For example, one manufacturer might use position 4 for the body type and position 5 for the engine, while another reverses that order. This is why a VIN decoder tool is so valuable: it knows the encoding scheme for every manufacturer and can translate these positions into plain language.

3. Vehicle Identifier Section (VIS) - Positions 9 to 17

The VIS starts with the check digit at position 9. This is a mathematically calculated value used to verify the entire VIN is valid. It helps detect typos and fraudulent VINs. The check digit can be any number from 0 through 9, or the letter X (which represents 10).

Position 10 indicates the model year. A rotating system of letters and numbers is used, cycling through the alphabet (skipping I, O, Q, U, and Z) and digits. For instance, R represents 2024, S represents 2025, and T represents 2026. Position 11 identifies the assembly plant. The final six positions (12 through 17) are the sequential production number, a unique serial assigned to the vehicle as it comes off the assembly line.

What a VIN Starting With 5 Means — and 1, 4, J, K, W

A VIN starting with 5 belongs to a manufacturer registered in the United States, exactly like one starting with 1 or 4. There is no difference in meaning between the three. The US was allotted 1 first, and 4 and 5 were opened as it filled up, so which one a vehicle carries reflects nothing more than what was free when its maker applied for an identifier.

Which manufacturers use a VIN starting with 5

A US identifier does not mean a US-owned brand — most of the best-known 5 codes belong to foreign automakers building on American soil. NHTSA's vPIC database lists all of these as manufacturer identifiers beginning with 5:

The first character is the manufacturer's code, not the assembly plant

This is the part almost every VIN guide gets wrong, including an earlier version of this one. The federal rule that defines the VIN, 49 CFR 565.15(a), says positions one through three “shall uniquely identify the manufacturer and type of the motor vehicle.” It says nothing at all about where the vehicle was assembled. The country association exists only because identifiers happen to be issued in geographic blocks.

Most of the time the two line up, and “5 means built in the US” gets you the right answer. Not always. In 2024 NHTSA advised Ford that it could use a US-issued identifier on vehicles built through a foreign joint venture — which is why the Lincoln Nautilus, assembled in China, carries a VIN that starts with 5.

If you want the factory rather than the manufacturer, read position 11 instead. The same regulation, at 565.15(d)(2), assigns that character to the plant of manufacture. For the full breakdown of every country block, see our VIN country code guide.

Complete VIN Position Reference

Use this table as a quick reference for each position in a 17-character VIN.

VIN Year Chart — Model Year Code (10th Digit)

The 10th character of a VIN encodes the model year. The chart below covers every code from A (1980) through 9 (2009), then repeating from A (2010) to 9 (2039). Because the code runs on a 30-year cycle, each character maps to two years 30 years apart — for example, R means 1994 and 2024. To tell which, look at position 7: if it is a number the year is in the 1980–2009 column, and if it is a letter the year is in the 2010–2039 column — a rule set by the note to Table VII of 49 CFR 565.15. Letters I, O, Q, U, Z and the digit 0 are never used.

Note: the modern 17-character VIN became mandatory for the 1981 model year, so A = 1980 only appears on a handful of early-adopter vehicles.

Car VIN Example — One VIN Decoded Character by Character

The most authoritative worked example is the one the federal government publishes itself. Table VI of 49 CFR 565.15 uses this sample VIN to demonstrate the check-digit calculation:

Position 7 in this VIN is 9, a digit — so by the note to Table VII the model-year code lands in the 1980–2009 column, and 5 resolves to 2005 rather than 2035. NHTSA's own decoder confirms it: a 2005 Buick.

Why the check digit is 4

Every character carries a value — digits count as themselves, letters map to 1 through 9 under Table III — and a position weight of 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 10, 0, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2. Multiply each pair, add the products, divide by 11, and the remainder is the check digit, with X standing in for 10. Here the products total 411, and 411 divided by 11 leaves a remainder of 4. Change any single character and that total moves, which is exactly how a mistyped or invented VIN gets caught.

Characters Never Used in a VIN

VINs never contain the letters I, O, or Q. This is not a convention but a rule: 49 CFR 565.13(g) requires every character in a VIN to come from the set ABCDEFGHJKLMNPRSTUVWXYZ or the digits 0 through 9, and I, O and Q are simply absent from that list. They were left out because they are too easily confused with the digits 1 and 0. So if you see an O in something presented as a VIN, it is a misread zero, a typo, or a fabrication.

Why Knowing How to Read a VIN Matters

Understanding VIN structure empowers you in several important ways. When buying a used car, you can verify that the VIN on the dashboard matches the one on the title and door jamb. Discrepancies can indicate a stolen vehicle or one that has been rebuilt from parts of multiple cars (known as a "cloned" VIN).

You can also use the model year digit to confirm the seller is representing the correct year, and position 11 to check which plant actually built the car. Many buyers assume a vehicle with a domestic brand name was built domestically, and the VIN is what settles it.

For the most complete picture, pair your VIN reading skills with a comprehensive VIN check. Our tool decodes every position and pulls in additional data including full specs, equipment lists, recall information, and market values.

VIN Reading FAQ