VinUnpack · Free · No sign-up · Runs in your browser
VIN Decoder
VinUnpack decodes a 17-character VIN into year, make, plant and country. Model and engine for 10 makes, plus 10 more when data allows. Free, nothing uploaded.
Awaiting VIN
Type a VIN above to print this label
What the 17 characters mean
The first three characters identify the manufacturer and the country or region where the vehicle was built.
Positions 4–8 describe the model, body style and engine. What they mean is defined by the manufacturer.
Position 9 is the check digit, 10 is the model year, 11 is the plant code and 12–17 are the serial number.
A VIN is the vehicle's own identity code, printed at the factory. Because positions 4–8 are manufacturer-defined, a decoder can only show what the public data actually contains: fields this page cannot fill are labelled “Not decoded”, never guessed.
Which vehicles are covered
Coverage is split into three tiers. After a decode, the result card shows which tier the VIN fell into, so you can see what was decoded and what was not.
Year, make, model, engine and plant.
Toyota · Volkswagen · Ford · Hyundai · Honda · Kia · Nissan · Chevrolet · BMW · Mercedes-Benz
Year, make and plant; model and engine when the public data covers them.
Subaru · Mazda · Lexus · Audi · Tesla · Jeep · Ram · GMC · Dodge · Volvo
Every other make recognised by NHTSA vPIC: year, make, plant code and country only. Model and engine are marked “Not supported in v1”.
For example: Porsche, Mini, Ferrari, Genesis, Polestar, John Deere, Caterpillar.
GM trucks are covered through Chevrolet (Tier A) and GMC (Tier B). Ford engine and model details appear when the vPIC data contains them.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a VIN?
- A VIN (Vehicle Identification Number) is the 17-character code a manufacturer assigns to a vehicle. It uses letters and digits but never I, O or Q, so those characters cannot be confused with 1 and 0.
- Where can I find my VIN?
- Look on the driver-side door jamb, at the bottom of the windshield on the driver side, or on the title, registration and insurance card.
- Is this VIN decoder free?
- Yes. There is no account, no payment and no usage limit.
- Does it decode every brand?
- No, and the page says so. Ten makes get a full decode (year, make, model, engine and plant): Toyota, Volkswagen, Ford, Hyundai, Honda, Kia, Nissan, Chevrolet, BMW and Mercedes-Benz. Ten more get year, make and plant plus model and engine when the public data covers them: Subaru, Mazda, Lexus, Audi, Tesla, Jeep, Ram, GMC, Dodge and Volvo. Every other make shows the year, make, plant code and country only.
- Can it decode a classic car or a 13-digit VIN?
- No. This decoder accepts the 17-character VIN used from 1981 onward. Older or shorter numbers return a length error instead of a guess.
- Is my VIN uploaded or stored?
- No. Decoding runs entirely in your browser, the VIN never leaves the page, and nothing is written to cookies or browser storage.
- What does the 10th character mean?
- The 10th character is the model-year code. The position breakdown on this page shows the code and the year it maps to, including the 1980–2009 and 2010–2039 windows.
- Why does a field say “Not decoded”?
- The public NHTSA vPIC data does not cover that field for the VIN. The decoder names the gap instead of guessing, so “Not decoded” means the source data is missing, not that the VIN is invalid.