VIN Year Chart
The 10th character of every 17-digit VIN encodes the vehicle's model year. Use the chart below to decode any VIN year code from 1980 through 2039.
How to Find the Year Code
Count from the left side of the VIN. The 10th character is the model year code.
Current year (2026) = VIN year codeT
1980-2009 (First Cycle)
| Code | Model Year |
|---|---|
| A | 1980 |
| B | 1981 |
| C | 1982 |
| D | 1983 |
| E | 1984 |
| F | 1985 |
| G | 1986 |
| H | 1987 |
| J | 1988 |
| K | 1989 |
| L | 1990 |
| M | 1991 |
| N | 1992 |
| P | 1993 |
| R | 1994 |
| S | 1995 |
| T | 1996 |
| V | 1997 |
| W | 1998 |
| X | 1999 |
| Y | 2000 |
| 1 | 2001 |
| 2 | 2002 |
| 3 | 2003 |
| 4 | 2004 |
| 5 | 2005 |
| 6 | 2006 |
| 7 | 2007 |
| 8 | 2008 |
| 9 | 2009 |
2010-2039 (Second Cycle)
| Code | Model Year |
|---|---|
| A | 2010 |
| B | 2011 |
| C | 2012 |
| D | 2013 |
| E | 2014 |
| F | 2015 |
| G | 2016 |
| H | 2017 |
| J | 2018 |
| K | 2019 |
| L | 2020 |
| M | 2021 |
| N | 2022 |
| P | 2023 |
| R | 2024 |
| S | 2025 |
| T | 2026 (current year) |
| V | 2027 |
| W | 2028 |
| X | 2029 |
| Y | 2030 |
| 1 | 2031 |
| 2 | 2032 |
| 3 | 2033 |
| 4 | 2034 |
| 5 | 2035 |
| 6 | 2036 |
| 7 | 2037 |
| 8 | 2038 |
| 9 | 2039 |
Why Do Codes Repeat Every 30 Years?
VINs only use 30 unique year codes (skipping I, O, Q, U, Z, and 0 to avoid confusion with similar-looking characters). The sequence repeats every 30 years, so the letter "L" represents both 1990 and 2020.
To tell which cycle a VIN is from, look at position 7. In the first cycle (1980-2009), position 7 is always a number (0-9). In the second cycle (2010-2039), position 7 is always a letter (A-Z excluding I, O, Q).
Decode a VIN Instantly
Skip the manual decoding. Enter any 17-digit VIN to decode all 17 characters plus specs, recalls, safety ratings, and more.