How to vin number check?

The 17 numbers and letters in a Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) indicate a vehicle’s make, model, when and where it was built, and more. Here’s what each part of a VIN means:

The first character in a VIN is the country or region where the manufacturer is located, or the final point of assembly. Usually, this is the country where the car was made, but in some European countries, it may be the country where the automaker is headquartered.

The second VIN character indicates the manufacturer and the region where the vehicle was produced. The third VIN character indicates the vehicle type or manufacturing division. Taken together, the first three characters of the VIN are the World Manufacturer Identifier or WMI code.

Characters 4 through 8 are the Vehicle Descriptor Section (VDS). They identify the vehicle brand, model, body style, engine type, transmission, and more. Service centers commonly use this information to identify an automaker’s systems so that they can properly maintain a car. The VIN decoder tool at the top of this page also uses this section to decode VINs.

The ninth character, or check digit, is used to detect invalid VINs based on a mathematical formula that was developed by the U.S. Department of Transportation.

The tenth digit indicates the car’s model year. The following chart shows which letter represents which model year. Certain letters and numbers are not used because they can be confused with others. VINs do not include the letters I (i), O (o), Q (q), U (u) or Z (z), or the number 0.

The 11th character identifies the manufacturing plant where the vehicle was assembled. Each manufacturer has its own plant codes.

Characters 12 through 17 are the unique serial number for the vehicle. This number often indicates the sequence in which a vehicle came off of the assembly line. Since there is no fixed standard for this number, each manufacturer can use it differently. Taken together, characters 10 through 17 make up the Vehicle Identifier Section (VIS).

Carfax has VIN lookup tools for a range of specific issues, including:

We developed these tools to provide consumers with quick, free VIN checks for common safety issues.

There are many articles on the internet that talk about ways to get a free Carfax Report. However, you can only access the information contained in a Carfax Vehicle History Report for free using the following methods:

Using Carfax Used Car Listings is the only way to get a full Carfax Report for free. You can also take advantage of our data to find cars that are reported accident-free, have only one owner, and more.

Creating a free Carfax Car Care account allows you to view your car’s service history, get alerts for upcoming services, find trusted service shops, and be the first to know about open recalls.

Most car valuation tools use general information to estimate a car’s value, including the model’s brand and year. The Carfax History-Based Value Tool includes VIN-specific information, such as past servicing, accident history, and number of owners, to provide a more complete picture of what a car is worth.

When you order a Carfax Report, you can unlock the following important information about the car:

This information can help you uncover potential safety issues and ultimately help you decide if a car you’re considering is right for you. You can have a look at a sample Carfax report and see where Carfax gets the data we include in our Vehicle History Reports.