VIN Model Year Codes: The 10th Character and 30-Year Cycle

Model year is different from production date

A model year is the manufacturer’s designation for a vehicle series. It is not necessarily the calendar year in which the vehicle was assembled, first sold, or registered. A vehicle labeled as the following model year may be manufactured during the preceding calendar year.

U.S. VIN rules put the model-year code in position 10. Other markets may use the position differently. This reference explains the model-year code system; it does not establish that the system applies to every 17-character VIN.

Model-year code reference

The year-code sequence skips I, O, Q, U, Z, and 0. I, O, and Q are excluded throughout a standard VIN; U, Z, and 0 can appear elsewhere but are not year codes in this sequence. For example, T can represent 1996 or 2026, while 6 can represent 2006 or 2036.

How to resolve a repeating code

For U.S.-regulated passenger cars, and multipurpose passenger vehicles and trucks with a gross vehicle weight rating of 10,000 lb (4,536 kg) or less, the regulation uses position 7 to distinguish the two cycles: numeric for 1980–2009 and alphabetic for 2010–2039.

That rule has a defined vehicle scope. Applying it blindly to a motorcycle, a heavier truck, or a vehicle for a different market can produce an unsupported conclusion. A reliable year should come from an applicable rule and vehicle context, a manufacturer record, or the decoded public-source result.

When the year remains unclear

Check the vehicle’s certification label, registration documents, and manufacturer information. A production month on a label can help establish context, but it should not simply replace the model year. If available evidence does not resolve the year, this decoder should leave it unconfirmed rather than choose the newest plausible year.

• 49 CFR § 565.15 — U.S. VIN content requirements ↗ (opens in a new tab)