What is a VIN (Vehicle Identification Number)?

Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) are used to uniquely identify motor vehicles. Prior to 1980 there was not an accepted standard for these numbers, so different manufacturers used different formats. Modern day VINs consist of 17 characters that do not include the letters I, O or Q.

Parts of a VIN?

Modern Vehicle Identification Number systems are based on two related standards originally issued by the ISO in 1979 and 1980, ISO 3779 and ISO 3780, respectively. Compatible but somewhat different implementations of these ISO standards have been adopted by the United States of America and the European Union.