VIN Country & Manufacturer Codes

The first three characters of a VIN are the World Manufacturer Identifier (WMI). The first character (sometimes the first two) sets the country or region where the vehicle was built. The first three together identify the manufacturer. This page lists both, so you can read the origin of any VIN at a glance. To decode a full number automatically, use our VIN Decoder.

VIN Country Codes

The leading character of a VIN maps to a region, and the second character narrows it to a country. Here are the assignments defined by the ISO 3780 standard:

Common Manufacturer Codes (WMI)

The full three-character WMI identifies the maker. A single manufacturer often holds several codes, split by country of production or vehicle type. Here are the ones you will run into most:

How to Use These Codes

Reading a VIN by hand is straightforward once you have the tables. Take the first character to find the country, then match the first three characters to a manufacturer. For everything after that - the model year, plant, and check digit - see our guide on how to read a VIN, or just paste the number into the VIN Decoder and it reads all of it for you.

Why a Manufacturer Has Several Codes

A large automaker builds vehicles in different countries and assigns a separate WMI to each plant or vehicle type. That is why Ford shows up as 1FA in the United States and 2FA in Canada, and why a brand's cars and trucks can carry different codes. Small manufacturers that build fewer than 1,000 vehicles a year share a "9" in the third position and are identified more precisely later in the VIN.

Related Guides and Tools

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• How to Decode a Motorcycle VIN
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