Where Is My VIN?

A vehicle’s VIN, or vehicle identification number, is a unique code that identifies an automobile. You’ll need to find it when buying or selling a used car. You’ll also need to reference the VIN when registering a car, getting new license plates, or getting auto insurance.

Over the years since VINs were implemented in the 1950s, automakers have placed them in different locations on the vehicle.

Since 1981, all vehicles have the VIN embossed on a plate mounted to the dashboard. It’s positioned far forward on the driver’s side so that it’s visible from outside, looking through the windshield.

The VIN can also be found on several additional locations in most vehicles, as well as in certain types of paperwork (your car’s title and insurance documents, for example). You can even locate the car’s VIN number by searching the car's history reports online. Let’s get into the details.

Automakers in the United States started using VIN numbers in 1954. Each manufacturer had its own system. They placed the VIN in different places, such as the following:


As you can imagine, finding the VIN was a challenge without any standardization of placement.

In 1969 the federal government mandated vehicle manufacturers to emboss a VIN number on every vehicle. It required that the VIN be visible from outside the car near the left pillar of the windshield.

Now the International Standards Organization (ISO) sets the standard for creating a VIN for on-road vehicles worldwide.

In 1980, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration created a new rule that took effect starting with cars manufactured in 1981. All over-the-road vehicles would have a 17 digit VIN number made up of numbers and letters.

VIN numbers do not use the letter “I” because it’s easy to confuse with the number 1. They don’t use “O” or “Q” to avoid confusion with the number 0.

You can locate the VIN far forward on the driver’s side dashboard, looking through the windshield.

Other places where the VIN may appear on some cars:

If your car isn’t close by and you need to know your vehicle identification number, you should be able to find the VIN using other methods.

A vehicle’s VIN is listed on the Certificate of Title and registration papers. Since the VIN is unique, it matches the vehicle title and registration to a particular car.

Note that the VIN can sometimes be entered on the title incorrectly, so be sure to doublecheck it when buying a used car.

Your VIN is also used on your auto insurance policy.

You should be able to get the VIN by calling your mechanic. When you take in your car for service or repairs, the tech or mechanic records your VIN into a database.

The mechanic also refers to the VIN to match the correct parts to your vehicle.

Records of your visits to an auto shop appear on a vehicle history report such as AutoCheck.

Vehicle identification numbers are used to conclusively pinpoint a specific vehicle for the following types of scenarios.

Your vehicle’s identification number is used to notify you of any issues or safety recalls with your car.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) requires car manufacturers to issue a recall when there’s a safety problem with any of their vehicles.

When a safety recall is issued, you should receive a notification in the mail if your VIN is implicated in a safety issue.

A law enforcement officer might look at a car’s VIN for any of the following reasons.

The US Department of Justice created the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System (NMVTIS) to combat car theft and fraud. Title washed and stolen cars sometimes have had the VIN altered.


If the criminal tries to register in another state, the NMVTIS returns “VIN already in use.”

A car’s history report can tell you a lot about a vehicle’s past. For example, a car history report from AutoCheck, a PrivateAuto trusted partner, can reveal:

A vehicle identification number has 3 sections:

The first 3 characters of a VIN number make up the WMI, which indicates the country or region where the car was made. VINs beginning with numbers 1 to 5 were built in North America.


In some countries, the second character represents the manufacturer.


For other countries, the first 2 characters represent the country. Depending on the country, the third digit may represent the automaker, or it may denote a category of vehicles.

The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) assigns the WMI to each automaker.

Positions 4 to 9 of a VIN are the vehicle descriptor section (VDS). This may include info like the model, body style, and drivetrain. Each carmaker has its own system for the VDS.

A lot of manufacturers use the 8th position as an engine descriptor when a model comes with different engine sizes.

North American auto manufacturers use the 9th position to detect input errors. It’s known as a check digit. When you plug the other 16 characters into a mathematical formula, they return the check digit.

Incidentally, you can also find check digits in many other codes.


Algorithms in computer data entry systems use the digit to check for entry errors.

The 10th to 17th positions identify a specific car.

Automakers in every country use position 10 to indicate the year model. Some makers, such as General Motors and Chrysler, used letters to encode the year. Beginning with “A” to represent 1980, each letter of the alphabet represented the year models until 2000. In 2001 they began using the last digit of the year to identify the year. For example, 1 for 2001, 2 for 2002, and so on. In 2010, they returned to using letters to represent the year.

For cars made in North America and China, the 11th position is the plant code. Each maker has its own set of plant codes.

The remaining positions indicate the production number, which is different for each automobile.

If you have a vehicle’s VIN, you can use the VIN to look up all sorts of info on the car. When shopping for a used car, it’s not a bad idea to get a snapshot of the car’s condition. Here are some free resources for VIN lookup.

1. The National Insurance Crime Bureau VinCheck tool will reveal if a car is stolen or has a branded title.
2. The federal government recall website has a VIN lookup to find safety recalls. It only shows open recalls.
3. Driving-Tests.org has a VIN lookup tool that returns the car’s information and specifications.
4. VinFreecheck.com shows the status of flood records, salvage or lemon title, and previous owners. To get accident reports and other vital car history information, you have to upgrade to a paid report.

PrivateAuto recommends AutoCheck, the best vehicle history report for the price. An AutoCheck report (included with premium PrivateAuto listings) shows the car’s maintenance records, accidents, title liens, and more. These reports are much more comprehensive than anything you’d get from a free online VIN lookup tool.

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