Where to find your VIN

For cars, SUVs, vans and light trucks, federal rules put the VIN inside the passenger compartment where it can be read from outside: look through the lower left corner of the windshield, on the driver's side.

On the vehicle

• Dashboard plate. Part 565 requires the VIN of passenger cars, multipurpose passenger vehicles, low-speed vehicles and trucks of 4,536 kg (10,000 lb) GVWR or less to be inside the passenger compartment and readable through the glazing by an observer standing outside next to the left windshield pillar.
• Door-jamb label. The certification label on the driver's door or door pillar usually repeats the VIN.
• Other locations. Many manufacturers also mark the VIN on parts such as the engine or frame; those locations vary by manufacturer.

In your paperwork

NHTSA notes the VIN also appears on the vehicle's registration card and may be shown on the insurance card. Titles, loan documents and service invoices normally carry it too.

Copying it correctly

• Count the characters — a 1981 or newer vehicle has exactly 17.
• There is no letter I, O or Q in a VIN; read those as 1 and 0.
• Compare the dashboard plate with your documents. If they differ, find out why before relying on either.

Then check it with the VIN decoder — a wrong character usually makes the check digit fail.