VIN Codes

Commencing in September 1980, Motor Vehicle Safety Standard regulation FMVSS-115 required a 17-digit VIN (vehicle identification number) on all new vehicles sold in the United States. (In Canada, the applicable regulation is Motor Vehicle Safety Regulations Standard 115 of the Motor Vehicle Safety Act.) In June of 1983 the American requirements of the regulation moved to Part 565.

The vehicle identification number is divided into four parts: the World Manufacturer's Identification (WMI - three characters); the Vehicle Description Section (VDS - five characters); the check digit; and the Vehicle Identification Section (VIS - eight characters). When decoded, the VIN tells the country and year of manufacture; make, model and serial number; assembly plant and even some equipment specifications.

Note that the sort sequence for characters in the VIN is A to Z, then 1 to 9, and finally 0, with the letters “I”, “O” and “Q” not normally used.

The following is not an exhaustive list, but I have managed to compile a listing for the manufacturers of most types of buses and service vehicles operated by many transit companies, as well as specific codes for several major manufacturers.

One of the better free online VIN decoders that I’ve found is at pronto-net.com. Some rather extensive lists can be found at vehicleidentificationnumber.com. Please with any additions or corrections, which would be greatly appreciated.

Position	Section	Information
1-2	WMI	country code
2-3	manufacturer

4-8	VDS	equipment codes

9		check digit

10	VIS	model year
11	manufacturing plant
12-17	serial number
or
10	VIS	model year
11	manufacturing plant
12-14	WMI suffix
15-17	serial number

Audi	Blue Bird	BMW	Bova	Checker	Chevrolet & GMC pickups	Chrysler PT Cruiser	DAF
Dodge Trucks	Ferrari	Flyer	Ford	General Motors cars	General Motors buses	Honda motorcycles	Harley- Davidson
Jeep	Land Rover & Range Rover	M · A · N American buses	Mercedes Benz	Motor Coach Industries	NABI	Nova Bus	Orion
Prevost	Renault	Subaru	Transportation Manufacturing Corporation	Toyota	Van Hool	Volkswagen	Volvo