A VIN has 17 characters and never uses the letters I, O or Q. Characters 1-3 identify the manufacturer, 4-8 describe the vehicle, 9 is a check digit in North America, 10 is the model year, 11 the plant and 12-17 the serial number. For example, the letter T in position 10 means model year 2026.
Reading the positions
| Position | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 1-3 | World manufacturer identifier: country and maker |
| 4-8 | Vehicle descriptors: model, body, engine, restraint system (maker-specific) |
| 9 | Check digit, used to catch typing errors (North America) |
| 10 | Model year |
| 11 | Assembly plant |
| 12-17 | Serial number of that vehicle |
The model-year letter
Position 10 cycles through letters and digits every 30 years, skipping I, O, Q, U and Z and the digit 0. Recent years:
| Year | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | 2027 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Code | J | K | L | M | N | P | R | S | T | V |
Why dealers care
- A wrong character means the wrong vehicle on paperwork. The check digit helps catch typos.
- Decoding the VIN gives year, make, model and trim, saving typing; see VIN decoder.
- The VIN is how history reports, recall lookups and registries identify a vehicle.
Checking a VIN you were given
- Count 17 characters and confirm none are I, O or Q.
- Check position 10 against the year of the car.
- Decode it and compare the make and model with what you are looking at.
- Compare it with the VIN on the dashboard plate and the door-jamb sticker.
A mismatch between plates is a reason to stop and investigate before buying.
Questions people ask
Why is there no I, O or Q?
They look too much like 1 and 0.
Do all vehicles have 17-character VINs?
Vehicles since 1981 do. Older ones vary.
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