VIN Decoder - Decode Vehicle Identification Numbers Online

VIN Decoder

A Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) is a 17-character alphanumeric code standardized by ISO 3779. Every road vehicle manufactured since 1981 carries one. This tool decodes the three sections of the VIN and validates the NHTSA check digit.

VIN structure

• WMI (characters 1–3): World Manufacturer Identifier: encodes the country and manufacturer.
• VDS (characters 4–9): Vehicle Descriptor Section: encodes vehicle type, model, restraint systems, and a check digit at position 9.
• VIS (characters 10–17): Vehicle Identifier Section: encodes model year (position 10), plant code (position 11), and the sequential production number.

Check digit

The 9th character is calculated using a weighted sum of all other characters. If the computed value matches the 9th character the VIN passes the NHTSA check. Some international VINs use different or no check-digit schemes and may show "mismatch" here even when valid.

WMI country and manufacturer codes

The first character of the WMI identifies the world region of manufacture:

Common two-character manufacturer codes: 1G = General Motors, 1F = Ford, JT = Toyota, VF = Renault, WB = BMW, WD = Mercedes-Benz, ZF = Ferrari.

Model year encoding

Position 10 of the VIN uses a rotating alphanumeric sequence to encode the model year. The letters I, O, Q, U, and Z are excluded to avoid visual ambiguity:

Check digit algorithm walkthrough

The NHTSA check digit is computed as follows:

1. Assign a transliteration value to each character (letters A–Z and digits 0–9 each have a defined numeric value).
2. Multiply each transliteration value by its position weight. Position weights are: 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 10 0 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2.
3. Sum all products.
4. Take the sum modulo 11. A result of 10 is represented by “X”.
5. If the result matches the character in position 9, the VIN passes the check.