Free VIN Decoder
Paste a 17-character VIN to decode its country, manufacturer, model year and plant — and check the ISO 3779 check digit that flags typos and altered numbers.
How do I decode a VIN for free?
Enter the 17-character VIN and the decoder reads its standardized structure: characters 1–3 give the country and manufacturer, character 9 is a check digit that validates the whole number, character 10 is the model year and character 11 is the assembly plant. It runs in your browser, so nothing is uploaded or stored.
The VIN is on the driver's-side dashboard (visible through the windshield), the door jamb sticker, and your registration and insurance documents. Decoding runs entirely in your browser — nothing is uploaded or stored.
Enter a VIN above to decode its country, maker, year and plant.
For context: every road vehicle built for sale since 1981 uses the same 17-character VIN format defined by ISO 3779 and the NHTSA VIN standard. Character 9 is a math check digit — if it doesn't match, the VIN was mistyped or altered.
How this calculator works
A VIN isn't random — it follows the ISO 3779 and NHTSA standard. This tool splits it into the World Manufacturer Identifier (1–3), the descriptor section (4–8) and the identifier section (9–17), then looks up the country from the first character, the manufacturer from the three-character WMI, the model year from character 10 and the plant from character 11. It also recomputes the check digit and compares it to character 9 to confirm the VIN is internally consistent.
Formula
Check digit = ( Σ transliterated-character × positional-weight ) mod 11, where 10 is written as 'X'. Country = f(character 1). Model year = decode(character 10). Plant = character 11.
Worked example
For VIN 1HGCM82633A004352: character 1 '1' = United States, WMI '1HG' = Honda, character 10 '3' = 2003, character 11 'A' = the assembly plant. The computed check digit for character 9 is '3', which matches the VIN — so it's internally valid.
What affects your result
- →Whether the VIN is exactly 17 characters (post-1981 standard)
- →The World Manufacturer Identifier in characters 1–3
- →The model-year code in character 10
- →The check-digit character in position 9
- →Manufacturer coverage — rare or grey-market WMIs may not resolve to a name
What this estimate includes
- ✓Country and world region of manufacture
- ✓Manufacturer (for recognized WMIs)
- ✓Decoded model year and assembly-plant code
- ✓ISO 3779 check-digit validation
What it does not include
- ×Title, lien, salvage or accident history
- ×Odometer / mileage records
- ×Trim, engine and options beyond what the WMI implies
- ×Recall and warranty status
Good to know
Clear, practical answers about the vin decoder.
What does a VIN decoder actually tell you?＋
The standardized parts a VIN encodes: the country and manufacturer (characters 1–3), model year (character 10) and assembly plant (character 11). It does not reveal title, mileage or accident history — that data lives in paid vehicle-history databases, not in the VIN itself.
How does the check digit work?＋
Character 9 is a checksum. Each of the other 16 characters is converted to a number, multiplied by a fixed positional weight, summed, and taken modulo 11 (10 is written as 'X'). If the result doesn't equal character 9, the VIN is invalid — usually a typo, sometimes a tampered number.
Why won't my VIN decode?＋
A valid VIN is exactly 17 characters and never contains the letters I, O or Q (they're excluded to avoid confusion with 1 and 0). Pre-1981 vehicles used shorter, non-standard VINs that this tool can't decode. Check the driver's-side dashboard or door jamb and re-enter it.
Is my VIN sent anywhere?＋
No. The decoding runs entirely in your browser — nothing is uploaded, logged or stored. Close the tab and it's gone.
🔗 Embed this calculator on your site (free)＋
Paste this code to add the live vin decoder to your page. It auto-resizes and links back here. Use of the embed requires keeping the attribution link.
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<script>window.addEventListener("message",function(e){if(e.data&&e.data.type==="mc-embed-height"){var f=document.querySelector('iframe[src="https://themotorcrunch.com/embed/vin-decoder"]');if(f)f.style.height=e.data.height+"px";}});</script>Related calculators
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