How to Read a VIN, Character by Character

The four sections of a VIN

1–3, World Manufacturer Identifier (WMI). Assigned to each manufacturer, it identifies the maker and the type of vehicle. A 9 in position 3 marks a small manufacturer (fewer than 1,000 vehicles of a type a year); for those, positions 12–14 complete the maker code.

4–8, Vehicle descriptor. The maker's own codes for the attributes federal rules require it to encode. For a passenger car these are make, line, series, body type, engine type and all restraint devices and their locations; trucks and SUVs add gross vehicle weight rating. Since the 2010 model year, position 7 must be a letter on cars and light trucks. Makers file the meaning of each code with NHTSA, which is how a decoder can read them.

9, Check digit. A calculated character that catches copying mistakes. The rule states its purpose plainly:

“…the check digit whose purpose is to provide a means for verifying the accuracy of any VIN transcription.”49 CFR 565.15(c)

10–17, Vehicle identifier. Position 10 is the model year and position 11 the plant of manufacture, which the rule defines as the plant where the VIN is affixed. Positions 12–17 are the production sequence number; on cars and light trucks the last five must be numbers.

Source: 49 CFR 565.15 and 565.12, read Oct 7, 2026.

Where it was built: the first character

The first character shows the country or region where the manufacturer is registered for that WMI, which is usually where the vehicle was built. A Honda built in the United States usually starts with 1 or 5; one built in Canada starts with 2; one built in Japan starts with J.

The full three-character WMI narrows it to one maker and vehicle type. The VIN decoder guide lists common WMIs from NHTSA's own catalog, and each make has its own decoder page, such as the Ford VIN decoder.

What the 8th digit tells you

It's one of the most searched VIN questions, and the honest answer is: it depends on the maker. Position 8 sits in the maker-defined section, so it has no universal meaning. Many manufacturers use it for the engine code, some for the restraint system or a series code.

That's why charts claiming "the 8th digit is the engine" can mislead you. To read it for your car, decode the VIN with a tool that queries NHTSA's catalog, which applies the codes your maker filed.

What the 10th digit tells you

Unlike the 8th, the 10th character means the same thing on every 17-character VIN: the model year. The example's H means 2017. Codes skip I, O, Q, U, Z and 0 and repeat every 30 years, so H also meant 1987. On cars and light trucks, a letter in position 7 places it in the 2010–2039 cycle. The model-year code chart lists every code from 1980 to 2039 and has a quick lookup.

Three common mistakes when reading a VIN

1. Reading O as a letter. VINs never contain I, O or Q. If you see a round character, it's a zero; a straight one is a 1. The check digit will flag the slip.
2. Assuming positions mean the same for every maker. Only positions 1–3, 9, 10 and 11 have fixed roles. Online charts that say "position 5 is the series" are describing one maker's scheme.
3. Using a 17-character chart on an older car. Vehicles built before the 1981 model year have shorter VINs in each maker's own format, so position-based charts don't apply. Many European and other non-US VINs also skip the check digit and model-year code.

Before you decode, make sure you copied the VIN from the car itself; our guide to where the VIN is shows every location.