Where is the VIN located?

Check these locations in order

1. Dashboard plate. Look through the windshield at the lower corner, usually on the driver's side. Lighting and reflections can make 5/S, 8/B and 0/D hard to distinguish.
2. Door opening. Open the front door and look for the manufacturer's certification label on the pillar or door jamb. Location varies by model and market; look for the line labeled VIN.
3. Registration, title and insurance. Compare all characters with the car itself. Documents are useful when you cannot access the vehicle, but a typing error is possible.
4. Owner's manual or manufacturer app. The manual shows the exact label locations for that model. Some vehicles also display the VIN in the infotainment system or an owner account.

Physical-location reference: NHTSA's VIN and recall lookup. Stamped chassis identifiers can sit elsewhere; use the model's manual rather than removing trim or searching under a vehicle.

Manufacturer examples

Before entering the number

A standard modern VIN has 17 characters and uses neither I, O nor Q. The registration number, engine number and short serial numbers on individual parts are different identifiers. Older vehicles may have a shorter chassis number that this decoder cannot accept.

What if the numbers do not match?

First re-read the ambiguous characters. If the numbers still differ, ask the seller or manufacturer to explain the discrepancy and verify the documents before relying on a decode. A mismatch can be a transcription error or a more serious identity problem; an online decoder cannot determine which. Matching numbers alone do not prove a vehicle's history is clean.