VIN Decoder - Decode Vehicle Identification Numbers Online

How to use this tool

1. Enter or paste your 17-character VIN into the input field.
2. The tool decodes the WMI, VDS, and VIS sections immediately.
3. Review the model-year candidates, any common WMI match, and the expected check digit.

VIN Decoder

A Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) is a 17-character code standardized by ISO 3779. For vehicles built since 1981, its sections identify a manufacturer and broad region, hold manufacturer-defined vehicle details, and encode a model-year code, plant code, and production sequence. This tool presents those structural fields without querying an outside database.

VIN structure

• WMI (characters 1–3): World Manufacturer Identifier: encodes the country and manufacturer.
• VDS (characters 4–9): Vehicle Descriptor Section: characters 4–8 carry manufacturer-defined information, so a single letter cannot be read as a universal vehicle type. Position 9 is the check digit used by the North American rule.
• 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 checked using a weighted sum of the VIN characters and a modulo-11 remainder. The result is shown alongside the entered character so a mismatch is explainable. The North American check-digit requirement applies to VINs beginning with 1–5. For other regions, the same calculation is informational: a difference does not by itself mean the VIN is invalid.

WMI country and manufacturer codes

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

The decoder recognizes a compact offline list of three-character WMI prefixes. Examples include 1G1 = General Motors, 1FT = Ford, JTD = Toyota, VF1 = Renault, WBA = BMW, WDB = Mercedes-Benz, and ZFF = Ferrari. Other prefixes are left unlisted rather than guessed. A WMI match does not reveal a vehicle's model, trim, or history, and manufacturer assignments can change; verify an unfamiliar code with an official directory.

Model year encoding

Position 10 of the VIN uses a rotating alphanumeric sequence to encode the model year. The model-year sequence excludes I, O, Q, U, and Z. Each code repeats after 30 years, so the decoder reports both candidates instead of guessing the vehicle's age. Use the title, registration, or manufacturer records to choose between them:

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.