Free VIN Scanner & VIN Decoder
Scan a Vehicle Identification Number with your phone camera, or type one in, and instantly see the make, model, year, engine and full build of that vehicle. Free, no account, nothing uploaded.
Data sourced from the free public NHTSA vPIC API. Covers US, Canadian and Mexican vehicles.
Enter VIN Manually
Type or paste a 17-character VIN to decode vehicle information
What a decoded VIN tells you
One 17-character code, eleven pieces of vehicle information — resolved from the official NHTSA record rather than guessed from the badge.
- Make
- Model
- Year
- Manufacturer
- Body class
- Drive type
- Engine
- Engine configuration
- Engine displacement
- Fuel type
- Transmission style
Why use this VIN scanner
Built to be fast on a phone, private by default, and honest about what it can and cannot resolve.
Camera VIN scanning
Point your phone at the VIN plate and OCR reads all 17 characters for you. No typing, no guessing at O versus 0.
Results in seconds
Scans run entirely on-device, so the only wait is the round trip to the NHTSA database — typically well under two seconds.
Official vehicle data
Decoded against the NHTSA vPIC dataset, the same government record that powers most commercial VIN tools.
Private by design
Images never leave your device. Scan history lives in your own browser storage and you can wipe it in one click.
Check digit validation
The 9th character is verified against the ISO 3779 checksum, so typos and mistyped O/0 are caught before you decode.
Works on any device
The camera scanner is built for phones; the manual decoder works identically on desktop. Nothing to install.
How to decode a VIN in three steps
No account, no email, no paywall at any point.
Find the VIN
It is on the driver-side door jamb, the lower edge of the windscreen, the engine block, the door frame, or a plate near the door lock.
Scan or type it
On a phone, aim the camera at the VIN and let the scanner read it. On desktop, paste the 17 characters into the box above.
Read your vehicle
Get make, model, year, body class, drive type, engine, engine configuration, displacement, fuel type and transmission in one view.
Where to find your VIN
The VIN is stamped or labelled in several places on every vehicle. If one is unreadable or faded, another is usually not.
- Driver-side door jamb
- The usual spot — a sticker or stamped metal plate, visible with the door open.
- Lower edge of the windscreen
- On the passenger side, viewed from outside the car.
- Engine block
- Stamped into the block itself, usually towards the front of the bay.
- Driver door frame
- On the door frame or the body panel next to the door lock.
- Motorcycle steering head
- For motorcycles, stamped on the steering head just below the handlebars.
A North American VIN is always 17 characters and never contains the letters I, O or Q — they are omitted to avoid confusion with 1 and 0. Learn how each position is encoded.
Your photos never leave your device
Camera frames are processed by OCR inside your browser and thrown away immediately. Scan history is kept in your own browser storage — not on a server. The only thing that ever leaves your device is the 17-character VIN string itself, sent to the free NHTSA API at the moment you ask for a decode. No accounts, no analytics, no tracking cookies. Read the privacy policy.
VIN scanner FAQ
Everything people ask before trusting a free VIN lookup with a vehicle number.
What is a VIN and what can I find out from one?
A Vehicle Identification Number is a 17-character code assigned to every vehicle built in North America. It encodes the country of origin, manufacturer, body style, model year, plant of assembly, a serial number, and the vehicle's engine, axle and restraint configuration. Decoding a VIN reveals make, model, year, body class, drive type, engine displacement, engine configuration, fuel type and transmission style.
Is this VIN scanner really free?
Yes. VIN Scanner is free, has no account, no paywall and no usage limits. Vehicle data comes from the free public NHTSA vPIC API, a United States government service.
Does VIN Scanner upload my photos or VINs to a server?
No. Camera frames are processed locally in your browser and are discarded immediately after OCR. Scan history is stored in your own browser storage. Only the 17-character VIN string is sent to the NHTSA API, and only at the moment you request a decode.
Which countries do VINs from this tool cover?
VINs follow the North American standard, so coverage is strongest for vehicles sold in the United States, Canada and Mexico. European VINs are 17 characters too but follow a different structure, and many are decoded incompletely by the NHTSA dataset.
Why does my VIN fail the check digit?
A failed check digit usually means a typo, a mistyped character, or a vehicle manufactured outside North America. The check digit algorithm is only valid for North American VINs. Double-check the ninth character and make sure no letter I, O or Q appears anywhere in the VIN.
Why are the letters I, O and Q not allowed in a VIN?
North American manufacturers excluded I, O and Q to avoid confusion with the digit 1 and the digit 0. The remaining 33 characters are letters A through Z minus those three, plus the digits 0 through 9.
Where do I find the VIN on my vehicle?
Look at the driver-side door jamb (visible with the door open, usually on a sticker or stamped plate), the lower edge of the windscreen on the passenger side, the front of the engine block, the frame of the driver door, or the VIN plate on the body near the door lock. On motorcycles it is usually on the steering head.
Can I decode a VIN on a desktop computer?
Yes. VIN Scanner works on desktop too. The camera scanner is designed for phones, but on desktop you can type or paste a 17-character VIN into the decoder and get the same vehicle data.