Question 1

What is a VIN?

Accepted Answer

A VIN (Vehicle Identification Number) is the unique 17-character number a manufacturer assigns to a body once and for good. It encodes the country, the manufacturer, the model, the engine, the model year and the assembly plant. The letters I, O and Q are never used, so they can't be confused with the digits 1 and 0.

Question 2

Where do I find the VIN on a car?

Accepted Answer

Usually on the plate under the windscreen on the driver's side, on the driver's door pillar, on the insurance policy and in the registration document. On Copart and IAAI lots the VIN is printed on the lot page itself.

Question 3

Is this decoder really free?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Decoding a VIN here is free and needs no account and no email address. The only paid items are separate documents, such as a Carfax report.

Question 4

Does a VIN decoder show mileage and accident history?

Accepted Answer

No. A decoder shows the factory build — what the car was when it left the line. Mileage, accidents, number of owners and title status are the car's history, and that takes a Carfax report.

Question 5

What does the check digit in a VIN mean?

Accepted Answer

The ninth character is a checksum over the other sixteen, computed with a fixed formula. A single wrong or transposed character almost always breaks the match. It's mandatory for US and Canadian vehicles and optional elsewhere.

Question 6

Why won't my VIN decode?

Accepted Answer

The usual reasons: the number has 16 or 18 characters; the letters O and I were typed where the digits 0 and 1 belong; or the car was never built for the US market — the factory database covers North American models first and foremost.

Decode a VIN in a second

What the decode shows you

Model, year and trim

Engine and drivetrain

Safety equipment

VIN questions