Canadian · Vehicles
VIN decoder: year, country, maker code.
Paste a 17-character VIN and see what each position says: country of origin, manufacturer code, model year, plant code and serial number. The tables are built into this page, so your VIN never leaves your browser. It does not return make, model or trim.
Inputs
Result
Enter a 17-character VIN and press Decode.
How this decoder reads a VIN
A North American VIN has 17 characters in fixed positions, set out in 49 CFR Part 565 (sections 565.12 and 565.15) and consistent with the structure in ISO 3779. This tool applies the following rules in your browser:
- Positions 1 to 3, WMI: the World Manufacturer Identifier. The first character gives the country or region (1, 4, 5 United States; 2 Canada; 3 Mexico; J Japan; K South Korea; W Germany; and so on). The registry behind these codes (ISO 3780) is administered by SAE, so this page shows only the widely published first-character grouping. The second character narrows it to a country, and the full three-character code identifies the maker, which this tool does not look up.
- Positions 4 to 8: vehicle descriptor. Each manufacturer defines these codes, so they cannot be decoded without that manufacturer’s data.
- Position 9, check digit: recomputed with the Part 565 weights (8,7,6,5,4,3,2,10,0,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2; sum modulo 11; remainder 10 is X). Required for vehicles built for North America, so a VIN from another market may legitimately fail it.
- Position 10, model year: the letters A to Y (without I, O, Q, U) and digits 1 to 9 cycle every 30 years: A is 1980 or 2010, L is 1990 or 2020, Y is 2000 or 2030, and 1 is 2001 or 2031. Per 565.15, a numeric position 7 means 1980 to 2009 and an alphabetic position 7 means 2010 to 2039. The tool applies that rule and also shows the other reading.
- Position 11: plant code, assigned by the manufacturer. Positions 12 to 17: production sequence number.
FAQ
What does the 10th digit of a VIN mean?
Position 10 is the model-year code. Under 49 CFR 565.15 the letters A to Y (skipping I, O, Q and U) stand for 2010 to 2030 and the digits 1 to 9 stand for 2031 to 2039. The same characters were used in the earlier 1980 to 2009 cycle, which is why position 7 is used to tell the two cycles apart.
How do I tell a 1990s VIN from a 2020s VIN when the 10th character is the same letter?
Look at position 7. For vehicles covered by the rule in 49 CFR 565.15, a numeric position 7 means position 10 refers to 1980 to 2009 and an alphabetic position 7 means 2010 to 2039. For example, a letter L in position 10 is 1990 when position 7 is a digit and 2020 when position 7 is a letter. This tool applies that rule and also shows the other reading in case your vehicle is a type the rule does not cover.
What does the first digit or letter of a VIN mean?
It is the first character of the World Manufacturer Identifier and identifies the region or country where the vehicle was built, not where it was sold or who owns the brand. 1, 4 and 5 are the United States, 2 is Canada, 3 is Mexico, J is Japan, K is South Korea, W is Germany and Z is Italy. The second character narrows the country, so this tool shows a region for letters that cover several countries.
Can a VIN tell me the make, model or trim?
Not by itself. The make is implied by the manufacturer code in positions 1 to 3, but the model, trim, engine and body style are encoded in positions 4 to 8 using codes each manufacturer defines. Decoding them needs a manufacturer database. This tool deliberately does not guess; it reads only the parts that the public regulation and registry allocations define.
What are positions 11 to 17 of a VIN?
Position 11 is the plant code, which is assigned by the manufacturer and has no universal meaning. Positions 12 to 17 are the production sequence number. For low-volume manufacturers, where the third WMI character is 9, part of the manufacturer identifier is carried in positions 12 to 14.
Does my VIN leave my device?
No. The tables are built into this page and everything runs in your browser. Nothing you type is sent anywhere or stored.
What this does and does not tell you
This is a structure reader, not a vehicle history. It cannot return make, model, trim, engine or options (those need a manufacturer database), and a readable VIN does not prove it was ever issued to a real vehicle. The model-year code is the year the manufacturer assigned, which can differ from the build date. Country groupings are first-character summaries and the registry has exceptions. For recalls and history, use NHTSA or Transport Canada. Nothing you type is transmitted or stored.