Code of Federal Regulations
Title 49, Volume 5, Parts 400 to 999
Revised as of October 1, 2000
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
CITE: 49CFR565.6
[Page 160-162]
TITLE 49--TRANSPORTATION
CHAPTER V--
NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
PART 565--VEHICLE IDENTIFICATION NUMBER REQUIREMENTS--Table of Contents
Sec. 565.6 Content requirements.
The VIN shall consist of four sections of characters which shall be
grouped accordingly:
(a) The first section shall consist of three characters that occupy
positions one through three (1-3) in the VIN. This section shall
uniquely identify the manufacturer, make and type of the motor vehicle
if its manufacturer produces 500 or more motor vehicles of its type
annually. If the manufacturer produces less than 500 motor vehicles of
its type annually, these characters along with the third, fourth and
fifth characters of the fourth section shall uniquely identify the
manufacturer, make and type of the motor vehicle. These characters are
assigned in accordance with Sec. 565.7(a).
(b) The second section shall consist of five characters, which
occupy positions four through eight (4-8) in the VIN. This section shall
uniquely identify the attributes of the vehicle as specified in Table I.
For passenger cars, and for multipurpose passenger vehicles and trucks
with a gross vehicle weight rating of 4536 kg. (10,000 lbs.) or less,
the first and second characters shall be alphabetic and the third and
fourth characters shall be numeric. The fifth character may be either
alphabetic or numeric. The characters utilized and their placement
within the section may be determined by the manufacturer, but the
specified attributes must be decipherable with information supplied by
the manufacturer in accordance with Sec. 565.7
(c). In submitting the
required information to NHTSA relating to gross vehicle weight rating,
the designations in Table II shall be used. The use of these
designations within the VIN itself is not required.
Tables I and II
follow:
Table I--Type of Vehicle and Information Decipherable
Passenger car: Line, series, body type, engine type and restraint system type.
Truck: Model or line, series, chassis, cab type, engine type, brake
system and gross vehicle weight rating.
Bus: Model or line, series, body type, engine type, and brake system
Trailer, including trailer kits and incomplete trailer: Type of trailer,
body type, length and axle configuration.
Motorcycle: Type of motorcycle, line, engine type, and net brake
horsepower.
Incomplete Vehicle other than a trailer: Model or line, series, cab
type, engine type and brake system.
Note to Table I: Engine net brake horsepower when encoded in the VIN
shall differ by no more than 10 percent from the actual net brake
horsepower; shall in the case of motorcycle with an actual net brake
horsepower of 2 or less, be not more than 2; and shall be greater than 2
in the case of a motorcycle with an actual brake horsepower greater than
2. Table II--Gross Vehicle Weight Rating Classes
Class A--Not greater than 1360 kg. (3,000 lbs.)
Class B--Greater than 1360 kg. to 1814 kg. (3,001-4,000 lbs.)
Class C--Greater than 1814 kg. to 2268 kg. (4,001-5,000 lbs.)
Class D--Greater than 2268 kg. to 2722 kg. (5,001-6,000 lbs.)
Class E--Greater than 2722 kg. to 3175 kg. (6,001-7,000 lbs.)
Class F--Greater than 3175 kg. to 3629 kg. (7,001-8,000 lbs.)
Class G--Greater than 3629 kg. to 4082 kg. (8,001-9,000 lbs.)
Class H--Greater than 4082 kg. to 4536 kg. (9,001-10,000 lbs.)
Class 3--Greater than 4536 kg. to 6350 kg. (10,001-14,000 lbs.)
Class 4--Greater than 6350 kg. to 7257 kg. (14,001-16,000 lbs.)
Class 5--Greater than 7257 kg. to 8845 kg. (16,001-19,500 lbs.)
Class 6--Greater than 8845 kg. to 11793 kg. (19,501-26,000 lbs.)
Class 7--Greater than 11793 kg. to 14968 kg.(26,001-33,000 lbs.)
Class 8--Greater than 14968 kg. (33,001 lbs. and over)
(c) The third section shall consist of one character, which occupies
position nine (9) in the VIN. This section shall be the check digit
whose purpose is to provide a means for verifying the accuracy of any
VIN transcription. After all other characters in VIN have been
determined by the manufacturer, the check digit shall be calculated by
carrying out the mathematical computation specified in paragraphs (c)
(1) through (4) of this section.
(1) Assign to each number in the VIN its actual mathematical value
and assign to each letter the value specified for it in Table III, as
follows:
Table III--Assigned Values
A = 1
B = 2
C = 3
D = 4
E = 5
F = 6
G = 7H = 8
J = 1
K = 2
L = 3
M = 4
N = 5P = 7
R = 9
S = 2
T = 3
U = 4
V = 5W = 6
X = 7
Y = 8
Z = 9
(2) Multiply the assigned value for each character in the VIN by the position weight factor specified in Table IV, as follows:
Table IV-- VIN Position and Weight Factor
VIN Position
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
7th
8th
Weight Factor
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
10
VIN Position
9th
10th
11th
12th
13th
14th
15th
16th
17th
Weight Factor
check
digit
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
(3) Add the resulting products and divide the total by 11.
(4) The numerical remainder is the check digit. If the remainder is 10 the
letter ``X'' shall be used to designate the check digit. The correct
numeric remainder, zero through nine (0-9) or the letter ``X,'' shall
appear in VIN position nine (9).
(5) A sample check digit calculation is shown in Table V as follows:
Add products: 8+49+24+5+32+15+18+80+0+45+56+7+6+40+12+12+2 = 411
Divide by 11: 411/11 = 37 4/11
The remainder is 4; this is the check digit to be inserted in position nine (9) of the VIN
(d) The fourth section shall consist of eight characters, which
occupy positions ten through seventeen (10-17) of the VIN. The last five
(5) characters of this section shall be numeric for passenger cars and
for multipurpose passenger vehicles and trucks with a gross vehicle
weight rating of 4536 kg. (10,000 lbs.) or less, and the last four (4) characters shall be numeric for all other vehicles.
(1) The first character of the fourth section shall represent the vehicle model year. The year shall be designated as indicated in Table
VI as follows:
Table VI--Year Codes for VIN
Year Code
1980 A
1981 B
1982 C
1983 D
1984 E
1985 F
1986 G
1987 H
1988 J
1989 K
1990 L
1991 M
1992 N
1993 P
1994 R
1995 S
1996 T
1997 V
1998 W
1999 X
2000 Y
2001 1
2002 2
2003 3
2004 4
2005 5
2006 6
2007 7
2008 8
2009 9
2010 A
2011 B
2012 C
2013 D
(2) The second character of the fourth section shall represent the plant of manufacture.
(3) The third through the eighth characters of the fourth section
shall represent the number sequentially assigned by the manufacturer in
the production process if the manufacturer produces 500 or more vehicles
of its type annually. If the manufacturer produces less than 500 motor
vehicles of its type annually, the third, fourth and fifth characters of
the fourth section, combined with the three characters of the first
section, shall uniquely identify the manufacturer, make and type of the
motor vehicle and the sixth, seventh, and eighth characters of the
fourth section shall represent the number sequentially assigned by the
manufacturer in the production process.