VIN decoder chart:
17 positions mapped.
See where the World Manufacturer Identifier, vehicle descriptor and vehicle identifier sit in a modern 17-character VIN. Manufacturer-specific meanings vary.
Explore a VIN’s structure
Enter a complete or partial VIN to highlight its position groups. This viewer reads character positions only and sends no data to NHTSA.
Use A–H, J–N, P–Z or 0–9. Type * for an unknown position. No vehicle make or model is inferred here.
Position groups for the sample VIN.
Position 9 is a check digit only for VINs governed by U.S. rules. Character assignments inside the VDS are manufacturer-specific.
What each group tells you
The VIN format identifies a particular vehicle through a manufacturer-assigned code. It is not a universal plain-language specification: the same position can carry different manufacturer-defined detail, and not every decoder returns every attribute.
Positions 1–3 · World Manufacturer Identifier
The WMI identifies the manufacturer. Its first characters indicate the assigned geographic region and manufacturer code, but position 1 alone should not be treated as a precise assembly-country lookup. Use the decoded plant details when available.
Positions 4–8 · Vehicle Descriptor Section
The manufacturer assigns this section to encode vehicle characteristics. Depending on the make and model, the information may describe vehicle type, body, engine or restraint details. Do not assume one universal character-by-character key.
Position 9 · Check digit in U.S.-regulated VINs
U.S. rules calculate a check digit from the other VIN characters using assigned values, position weights and modulo 11. It catches some transcription errors; it does not authenticate a car.
Positions 10–17 · Vehicle Identifier Section
Position 10 represents model year under the applicable standard. Codes repeat in cycles, so a code by itself may not distinguish the decade. Position 11 identifies the plant code; the remaining sequence is assigned by the manufacturer. Ask the decoder for a model year when a code is ambiguous.
NHTSA vPIC decodes manufacturer-submitted records for vehicles in its scope, primarily model year 1981 onward and vehicles intended for the U.S. market. A missing field means the service did not return a value, not necessarily that the vehicle lacks that feature. Read about NHTSA vPIC. For a practical lookup sequence, see the step-by-step decoder guide.