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Your car may have come off a factory line, but its vehicle identification number (VIN) ensures that it’s as unique as you are. Perhaps you’ve heard someone mention having to look up a car’s VIN, or you’ve had to look one up yourself when buying a used car. But what exactly is a VIN? Let’s learn a little more about this special code.
A vehicle identification number is a unique, alphanumeric code printed on several areas of the car’s body. It's typically 17 characters long, but older cars may have fewer characters. This is because the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) didn’t standardize the 17-character length until 1981.
VINs were designed to enhance public safety and deter vehicle theft. They've also helped to improve the accuracy of car recall campaigns and provide an instant report on the car’s manufacturer, brand, make, model, assembly plant, engine size and more.
Your car will have its VIN listed in a few places on its body, depending on the manufacturer. Four common locations are:
If you can’t find the VIN on the car’s body, it’s also listed on the title documents, the state registration documents and the owner’s manual. New cars still on the lot usually have the VIN information on a window sticker.
When looking at a modern 17-character VIN, the placement of the characters can tell you several pieces of information about the car. You can look up those specific character groupings to decode the following:
There are many reasons someone may need to look up a car’s VIN information. Maybe you’re curious to learn more about the car you drive every day or perhaps you’re considering buying a car and wish to know more about it.
Your local Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) can help you with finding a vehicle’s VIN, and NHTSA provides a public database where you can search for a car by its VIN. Additionally, there are several private websites where you can look up a VIN, though there may be a fee.
A vehicle identification number is a unique 17-character code that provides several key details about your car. VIN information is used by mechanics to identify manufacturer-specific procedures for your car and is helpful in many other situations. Understanding how to identify and decode your car’s VIN can help you learn more about your own car.
This article is for educational purposes only and provides general auto information. The material is not intended to provide legal, tax, or financial advice or to indicate the availability or suitability of any JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. product or service. Outlooks and past performance are not guarantees of future results. Chase is not responsible for, and does not provide or endorse third party products, services or other content. For specific advice about your circumstances, you may wish to consult a qualified professional.
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