Free VIN Decoder

A Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) is a unique 17-character code assigned to every motor vehicle when it's manufactured. It encodes the manufacturer, country of origin, vehicle type, model year, production plant, and serial number. No two vehicles share the same VIN.

Your VIN appears in three primary places: (1) the driver's side dashboard, visible through the windshield at the base, (2) the driver's side door jamb on a certification sticker, and (3) your vehicle registration, title, or insurance documents. It may also appear on major components like the engine block.

Positions 1–3 (WMI) identify the manufacturer and country of origin. Positions 4–8 (VDS) describe vehicle attributes like body style and engine. Position 9 is a check digit for validity verification. Position 10 is the model year. Position 11 is the assembly plant code. Positions 12–17 are the sequential production number.

I, O, and Q are excluded because they look too similar to the numbers 1, 0, and 9 in certain fonts and on worn stickers. Removing them from the character set prevents misreading. This is why valid VINs only use the letters A–H, J–N, P–Z, and digits 0–9.

Yes, fully free with no account required. The VIN you enter is sent directly from your browser to the NHTSA public API — there's no backend server logging your queries. NHTSA's vPIC API is a free public service maintained by the US federal government.

This tool uses the NHTSA vPIC (Vehicle Product Information Catalog) API, maintained by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. It covers vehicles manufactured for US sale and includes data from manufacturers worldwide. Coverage varies by country of origin — US, Canadian, and many foreign vehicles have detailed records.