VIN Decoder

What the decoder returns

AutoBimer decodes VINs with NHTSA vPIC, the free database run by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. For most vehicles sold in the US it returns the make, model, model year, body class, engine (cylinders, displacement, fuel), drive type, transmission style and assembly plant.

The plate above works without a lookup: as you type, it splits the VIN into its sections, checks for characters that are never used (I, O, Q), calculates the check digit and shows which model years the 10th character can mean.

Decoder data is not vehicle history

A decoder reads the pattern the manufacturer registered. It cannot tell you the options on one particular car, its accident history, its title brand or its mileage. That is why each VIN page also shows auction listings when they exist, and keeps the two sources clearly labelled. The guide what a free VIN decoder can and cannot tell you goes into detail.

Vehicles from outside North America

VINs from European or Asian-market vehicles are valid but often decode only partially in vPIC, and many do not use position 9 as a check digit. AutoBimer accepts them and says plainly when a field could not be decoded.

Read the position-by-position guide