Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) FAQ
What is a VIN?
A Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) is a unique sequence of 16 or 17 characters composed of letters and numerals that is assigned to most vehicles manufactured today. They are the main way vehicles are identified for administrative purposes (including registration and insurance).
What countries use VIN numbers?
VINs are used in the United States, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and other countries.
Where is the VIN number on a vehicle?
- stamped on a metal plate and fixed onto the vehicle body (usually the drivers side dash on the left hand side -- you need to look at if from outside through the windshield), or
- stamped into the vehicle structure during manufacture (usually the post on the driver's side), or
- vehicle registration or insurance cards
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What does the VIN number indicate?
The Vehicle Identification Number was originally described in ISO Standard 3779 in February 1977 and last revised in 1983. The ISO-VIN was designed to identify motor vehicles, trailers, motorcycles and mopeds and consists of three sections:
WMI - World Manufacturer Identifier, which uniquely identifies the maker of the vehicle. It occupies the first three positions of the VIN, except when a manufacturer builds less than 500 vehicles per year, in which case the third digit is always a 9 and the 12th, 13th and 14th position of the VIN are used for the second part of the WMI. The WMI is described in ISO 3780.
VDS - Vehicle Descriptor Section. These 6 characters occupy positions 4 through 9 of the VIN and may be used by the manufacturer to identify attributes of the vehicle.
VIS - Vehicle Identifier Section. The last 8 characters of the VIN are used for the identification a of specific vehicle. The last four characters are always numeric.
ISO 3779 makes a provision for a code for the year in which a vehicle is built. When a manufacturer uses a year code, ISO recommends that the 10th position of the VIN is used.
The same applies to the use of a factory code. When a manufacturer uses a factory or plant code, ISO recommends that the 11th position of the VIN is used. In the VIN-code, capital letters A through Z and numbers 1 through 0 may be used, except the letters I, O and Q for obvious reasons. No signs or spaces are allowed in the VIN.
Most cars sold in North America after 1981 have a 17 digit VIN.
Click here for a basic decode of the VIN number
Click here for more detailed information on the format of the VIN number used in the US.
What can the VIN number be used for?
The VIN can be used to get information regarding a vehicle's title, registration and usage history. You can find out:
- accident information
- salvage or junk status
- flood, fire or hail damage information
- odometer information
- lemons
- gray market information
- fleet/rental vehicles
- records of theft
- current liens on the vehicle
- theft information
Don't the numerals 1 and 0 cause confusion with the letters I and O?
They don't because I and O (the upper case alphabets) are illegal in a VIN. All such characters are either 1 or 0 (the numerals)!