VIN year chart: the 10th digit
Character 10 of a 17-digit VIN encodes the model year. Letters run A–Y (skipping I, O, Q, U, Z and 0) for 1980–2000, digits 1–9 cover 2001–2009, then the letters repeat from 2010. The full cycle spans 30 years, so every code maps to two possible years.
| 10th digit | Cycle 1 | Cycle 2 |
|---|---|---|
| A | 1980 | 2010 |
| B | 1981 | 2011 |
| C | 1982 | 2012 |
| D | 1983 | 2013 |
| E | 1984 | 2014 |
| F | 1985 | 2015 |
| G | 1986 | 2016 |
| H | 1987 | 2017 |
| J | 1988 | 2018 |
| K | 1989 | 2019 |
| L | 1990 | 2020 |
| M | 1991 | 2021 |
| N | 1992 | 2022 |
| P | 1993 | 2023 |
| R | 1994 | 2024 |
| S | 1995 | 2025 |
| T | 1996 | 2026 |
| V | 1997 | 2027 |
| W | 1998 | 2028 |
| X | 1999 | 2029 |
| Y | 2000 | 2030 |
| 1 | 2001 | 2031 |
| 2 | 2002 | 2032 |
| 3 | 2003 | 2033 |
| 4 | 2004 | 2034 |
| 5 | 2005 | 2035 |
| 6 | 2006 | 2036 |
| 7 | 2007 | 2037 |
| 8 | 2008 | 2038 |
| 9 | 2009 | 2039 |
Which of the two years is right?
Use the rest of the VIN: the plant code, the serial number range and the car's visible generation usually settle it in seconds. A vehicle can't be from the future, and a visibly-1990s car with a "2019" letter has simply rolled into the second cycle.
The motorcycle trap
The 30-year repeat bites hardest on motorcycles because generations last longer. The letter B means both 1981 and 2011 — a difference of three decades. Always match the code against the bike's visible generation (brakes, switchgear, emissions hardware) before assuming a mismatched title is fraud. More on the motorcycle VIN decoder page.
Rather have it read for you? Decode the full VIN — year, plant, engine and more.
FAQ
01Is the VIN year the same as the build year?
Not always. US law stamps the model year, which can be up to a year after the car was actually built — a car assembled in July 2023 can legitimately be a 2024 model.
02Why is there no I, O, Q, U, Z or 0?
They are excluded to avoid confusion with 1, 0 and V, and to keep 30-year cycle math unambiguous.