Modern VINs are based on two related standards, originally issued by the
International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in 1979 and 1980: ISO 3779 and ISO 3780, respectively. Compatible but different implementations of these ISO standards have been adopted by the European Union and the United States. The VIN consists of 17 characters, and only uses capital letters (excluding I, O and Q) and digits (0-9). It comprises the following sections: body next to a passenger seat
World manufacturer identifier The first three characters uniquely identify the manufacturer of the vehicle using the world manufacturer identifier or WMI code. A manufacturer who builds fewer than 1,000 vehicles per year uses a 9 as the third digit, and the 12th, 13th and 14th position of the VIN for a second part of the identification. Some manufacturers use the third character as a code for a vehicle category (e.g., bus or truck), a division within a manufacturer, or both. For example, within (assigned to
General Motors in the United States), represents
Chevrolet passenger cars; ,
Pontiac passenger cars; and , Chevrolet
trucks. The
Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) in the US assigns WMIs to countries and manufacturers. The first character of the WMI is typically the region in which the manufacturer is located. In practice, each is assigned to a country of manufacture, although in Europe the country where the continental headquarters is located can assign the WMI to all vehicles produced in that region. (Example: When Adam Opel AG was still with General Motors, Opel/Vauxhall cars designed in that era used to carry a "German" WMI (e.g. W0L, W0V), because Adam Opel AG was based in Rüsselsheim, Germany, no matter if vehicles were produced in Germany, Spain, the United Kingdom, Poland or South Korea. When Opel changed hands and became part of PSA, this changed for newer models, which obtained "French" WMIs.) Company mergers and acquisitions can lead to seemingly confusing allocations. For instance, Stellantis, the result of the merger of PSA (France) and FCA (Italy), is technically a Dutch corporation headquartered in Amsterdam. VINs of European-made vehicles or their brands, though, still carry WMIs from France and Italy. Additionally, it may not be immediately obvious what particular local subsidiary of the corporation manages type approvals of vehicles and application for WMIs, since this does not necessarily depend on the perceived country association of the respective brand. For example, in at least one case, a model that was newly released years after the merger by an Italian brand (ex-FCA) carries VINs with new French WMIs (the 2024 Lancia Ypsilon – incidentally manufactured in Spain). It is to be expected that assignment policies of this kind, often for unpublished reasons, can be found at other manufacturers as well. In the notation below, assume that letters precede numbers and that zero is the last number. For example, 8X–82 denotes the range 8X, 8Y, 8Z, 81, 82, excluding 80.
Vehicle descriptor section The fourth to ninth positions in the VIN are the vehicle descriptor section or VDS. This is used, according to local regulations, to identify the vehicle type, and may include information on the
automobile platform used, the model, and the
body style. Each manufacturer has a unique system for using this field. Most manufacturers since the 1980s have used the eighth digit to identify the engine type whenever there is more than one engine choice for the vehicle. Example: for the 2007 Chevrolet Corvette (
C6 Vette), U is for a 6.0-liter
V8 engine, and E is for a 7.0-liter V8.
North American check digits One element that is inconsistent is the use of position nine as a
check digit, compulsory for vehicles in North America and China, but not Europe.
Vehicle identifier section The 10th to 17th positions are used as the vehicle identifier section or VIS. This is used by the manufacturer to identify the individual vehicle in question. This may include information on options installed or engine and transmission choices, but often is a simple sequential number.
Model year encoding The North American implementation of the VIS uses the 10th digit to encode the
model year of the vehicle. Besides the three letters that are not allowed in the VIN itself (I, O and Q), the letters U and Z and the digit 0 are not used for the model year code. Outside of North America the 10th digit is usually 0. The year 1980 was encoded by some manufacturers, especially General Motors and
Chrysler, as "A" (since the 17-digit VIN was not mandatory until 1981, and the "A" or zero was in the manufacturer's pre-1981 placement in the VIN), yet
Ford and
AMC still used a zero for 1980. Subsequent years increment through the allowed letters, so that "Y" represents the year 2000. 2001 to 2009 are encoded as the digits 1 to 9, and subsequent years are encoded as "A", "B", "C", etc. On April 30, 2008, the US
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration adopted a final rule amending 49 CFR Part 565, "so that the current 17 character vehicle identification number (VIN) system, which has been in place for almost 30 years, can continue in use for at least another 30 years", in the process making several changes to the VIN requirements applicable to all motor vehicles manufactured for sale in the United States. There were three notable changes to the VIN structure that affect VIN deciphering systems: • The make may only be identified after looking at positions one through three and another position, as determined by the manufacturer in the second section or fourth to eighth segment of the VIN. • In order to identify the exact year in passenger cars and multipurpose passenger vehicles with a GVWR of 10,000 or less, one must read position 7 as well as position 10. For passenger cars, and for multipurpose passenger vehicles and trucks with a gross vehicle weight rating of or less, if position seven is numeric, the model year in position 10 of the VIN refers to a year in the range 1980–2009. If position seven is alphabetic, the model year in position 10 of VIN refers to a year in the range 2010–2039. • The model year for vehicles with a GVWR greater than , as well as buses, motorcycles, trailers and low-speed vehicles, may no longer be identified within a 30-year range. VIN characters 1–8 and 10 that were assigned from 1980 to 2009 can be repeated beginning with the 2010 model year.
Plant code Compulsory in North America and China is the use of the 11th character to identify the assembly plant at which the vehicle was built. Each manufacturer has its own set of plant codes.
Production number In the United States and China, the 12th to 17th digits are the vehicle's serial or production number. This is unique to each vehicle, and every manufacturer uses its own sequence. ==Check-digit calculation==