Each automobile and truck has a Vehicle Identification Number or  VIN associated with it. A VIN usually consists of 17 characters  (a combination of letters and digits) and encodes vehicle information,  such as manufacturer, plant location, engine type, body style, model  year, and type of restraint system. It also contains a serial number and  a check digit.        Each car company uses a slightly different method to encode vehicle  information into the 17 character VIN. The only constant is that the check  digit is stored in the ninth position. Here, the VIN system for 1998 Hondas  is presented. Sample Honda VIN: JHMEJ854*WC123456        The first three characters indicate the manufacturer, make, and  type of vehicle. JHMEJ854*WC123456   JHL Honda Motor Co., Ltd. Honda Multipurpose Passenger Vehicle JHM Honda Motor Co. Ltd - Honda passenger car 1HG Honda of America Mfg Inc - Honda passenger car 2HG Honda of Canada Mfg Inc - Honda passenger car The fourth through sixth characters indicate the model of the vehicle  along with the vehicles engine displacement. JHMEJ854*WC123456 BB6 Prelude 2 Dr H22A4 CF8 Accord 4 Dr SOHC,F23A5 CG1 Accord 4 Dr V6 VTEC, J30A1 CG2 Accord 2 Dr V6 VTEC, J30A1 CG3 Accord  2 Dr VTEC, F23A1   Accord 2 Dr ULEV, F23A4 CG5 Accord 4 Dr VTEC, F23A1 CG6 Accord 4 Dr ULEV, F23A4 EJ6 Civic 2/4 Dr D16Y7   Civic Hatchback   D16Y7 EJ7 Civic 2 Dr D16Y5 EJ8 Civic 2/4 Dr D16Y8 RA3 Odyssey 5 Dr. Wagon F23A7 RD1 CR-V, (4-Wheel Drive) 5 Dr B20B4 RD2 CR-V, (2-Wheel Drive)  5 Dr B20B4 The seventh character encodes the body and transmission type of the  vehicle. JHMEJ854*WC123456 1 2 Dr. Coupe M/T 2 2 Dr. Coupe A/T or CVT 3 3 Dr. Hatchback M/T 4 3 Dr.  Hatchback A/T 5 4 Dr.  Sedan M/T 6 4 Dr. Sedan A/T 7 5 Dr. Wagon or Multipurpose Passenger Vehicle M/T 8 5 Dr.  Wagon or Multipurpose Passenger Vehicle A/T The eighth character indicates the series/model type and the type of  restraint system used. JHMEJ854*WC123456  2 Civic Hatchback CX Civic DX 2/4 Dr Civic HX 2 Dr 4 Civic DX 3 Dr Civic EX 2/4 Dr Odyssey LX 6Passenger Accord DX 4 Dr. Accord LX 2/4 Dr Prelude w/o SH pkg. Prelude CR-V LX 5 Accord. EX 2/4 Dr Prelude SH pkg. CR-V LX w/ABS 6 Odyssey LX 7Passenger CR-V EX 7 Odyssey EX Accord EX ULEV 2/4 Dr Civic LX w/A/C 4 Dr The ninth character is the check digit. This is one of the digits  0 - 9 or the letter X. The check digit scheme is described below. JHMEJ854*WC123456 The tenth character indicates the year of the vehicle. JHMEJ854*WC123456 W 1998 The eleven character indicates the plant where the vehicle was  manufactured. JHMEJ854*WC123456 A Marysville, Ohio (USA) C Sayama (Japan) H Alliston, Ontario (Canada) L East Liberty, Ohio (USA) S Suzuka (Japan) The twelfth through seventeenth characters are the serial number  for the vehicle. JHMEJ854*WC123456  The Check Digit Scheme Let a1a2a3a4a5a6a7a8a9a10a11a12a13a14a15a16a17 be a VIN with  the check digit in the ninth position. First assigning digits to the  non-digit characters in the identification number using the table  below. The check digit a9 is determined by the following calculation: a9=8a1+7a2+6a3+5a4+4a5+3a6+2a7+10a8+9a10+ 8a11+7a12+6a13+5a14+4a15+3a16+2a17 (mod 11). If the remainder is 10 when the weighted sum is divided by 11,  the check digit a9 is assigned the value of X.  Examples: Determine the check digit for the VIN: JHMEJ854*WC123456. Digit Assignment: JHMEJ854*WC123456 = 18451854*63123456 Calculation: a9 = 8a1+7a2+6a3+5a4+4a5+3a6+2a7+10a8+9a10+8a11+ 7a12+6a13+5a14+4a15+3a16+2a17 (mod 11) = 8 · 1+7· 8+6· 4+5· 5+4· 1+3· 8+2· 5+10· 4+9·   6+8· 3+7· 1+6· 2+5· 3+4· 4+3· 5+2· 6 (mod 11) = 8 + 56 + 24 + 25 + 4 + 24 + 10 + 40 + 54 + 24 + 7 + 12 + 15 + 16 + 15 + 12 (mod 11) = 346 (mod 11) = 5 Full VIN: JHMEJ8545WC123456  Valid VIN: 1HGBB622XWA000001 Digit Assignment: 1HGBB622XWA000001 = 18722622X61000001 (Note: The check digit is X and is not converted) Calculation: a9 = 8a1+7a2+6a3+5a4+4a5+3a6+2a7+10a8+9a10+8a11+ 7a12+6a13+5a14+4a15+3a16+2a17 (mod 11) = 8· 1+7· 8+6· 7+5· 2+4· 2+3· 6+2· 2+10· 2+9· 6+8· 1+7· 0+6· 0+5· 0+4· 0+3· 0+2· 1 (mod 11) = 8 + 56 + 42 + 10 + 8 + 18 + 4 + 20 + 54 + 8 + 0 + 0 + 0 + 0 + 0 + 2 (mod 11) = 230 (mod 11) = 10 Since the remainder is 10, which corresponds to the check digit X,  this is a valid VIN. Invalid VIN: 2HGRA3775WH101001 Digit Assignment: 2HGRA8773WH101001 = 28791877368101001 Calculation: a9=8a1+7a2+6a3+5a4+4a5+3a6+2a7+10a8+9a10+8a11+7a12+ 6a13+5a14+4a15+3a16+2a17 (mod 11) = 8· 2+7· 8+6· 7+5· 9+4· 1+3· 8+2· 7+10· 7+9· 6+8· 8+7· 1+6· 0+5· 1+4· 0+3· 0+2· 1 (mod 11) = 16 + 56 + 42 + 45 + 4 + 24 + 14 + 70 + 54 + 64 + 7 + 0 + 5 + 0 + 0 + 2 (mod 11) = 403 (mod 11) = 7 Since the check digit calculation results in a 7, which is not equal to the check digit of 3, this VIN is invalid. More information on VIN systems used by specific car companies can be found at the following web sites: Honda VIN Info. Corvette VIN Info. Ferrari VIN Info. For All Practical Purposes