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GM VIN Decoder

Decode Your Vehicle Identifications Number for Free.
17-character VIN number

FAQ

Where is the VIN number located on a Chevy?

Please make sure your Chevy is made by a US manufacturer.

Location A appears on the front part of the dashboard on the driver's side of the Chevy, at the base of the windshield. A highly recommended way to find your VIN is to look through the windshield from outside the car.
Location B should be on the driver's door post. Open the door first, and you will find the VIN near the area where the door latches to the Chevy.
Location C is under the hood. A gasoline-powered Chevy usually has the code stamped on the front of the engine block. For older cars, the VIN can also be located at the front end of the frame.
Location D can be found on your Chevy's title, car registration, or insurance documents.
Four possible locations for a VIN number

You should be able to find a car's VIN at the locations above.

What is a VIN number (Vehicle Identification Number)?

A VIN, or Vehicle Identification Number, is a distinctive identifying code assigned to any GM vehicles (Buick, Cadillac, Chevy, etc.) at the time they were constructed. It is a linear sequence of 17 characters without any intervening spaces or the letters Q (q), I (i), and O (o), which are omitted to prevent confusion with the digits 9, 1, and 0. The VIN works similarly to a person's social security number or a product's serial number. Each segment of the VIN offers detailed information about your Chevy, for instance, body style, year, model, engine type, and so forth.

There was no single standard prior to 1981. That said, the VIN standards may vary between manufacturers, which made it highly challenging or frequently impossible to check a Chevy's history using an old format. Our free Chevy VIN decoder covers those vehicles equipped with current VINs.

Why my Chevy VIN number doesn't decode?

Decoder error? Here's a check list.

Possibility A: If you find our decoder fails to process successfully, please make sure that you put all the 17 letter-and-number combinations in a correct way.
Possibility B: To avoid confusion, the standard VIN format does not contain the letters I, O, and Q. Check if your vehicle's code is along with these letters.
Possibility C: Your Chevy was made before the year 1981 so it was not accompanied by a standard VIN certified by the NHTSA, as referred to above.
Possibility D: An imported vehicle may not be assigned with a VIN. Check your Chevy's origin before using our free lookup tool.

How dose it work to decode a Chevy VIN number?

Curious about what hides behind a Chevy's VIN number?

  • The very first character tells you the exact country or region of the manufacturer.
  • Number two digit reveals the GM manufacturer.
  • Digit three is to specify what kind of Chevy it is, an SUV, truck, etc. The first three digits are known as WMI (World Manufacturer Identifier).
  • Positions four to eight give a general report of a Chevy. They are put together as VDS (Vehicle Descriptor Section).
  • Number nine serves as the check digit, which is based on a mathematical formula from the U.S. Department of Transportation.
  • The tenth character refers to the model year of your car.
  • The eleventh position indicates what plant your Chevy is from.
  • The final six digits denote the Chevy's production sequence numbers.

Now enter your car's VIN in the decoder above to check its history for FREE! Precise meanings of the 17-digit VIN number

What Chevy models can be decoded by this free VIN decoder?

Our Chevy VIN lookup tool could very well decode any Chevy cars that were manufactured after 1981 when the current VIN format was initially confirmed by the NHTSA. With that said, certain Chevy type dating back to the 1980 and before was unfortunately not eligible for our VIN lookup tool. But don't worry, we should properly decode nearly any Chevy model on the road, including Chevy Nova, S10, Colorado, and so forth. At ChevyPartsGiant, specific Chevy information encoded in the VIN is given to you in no time!

Here is a reminder: before you decode any Chevy model, please put the 17-digit VIN code in a correct way so as to smoothly get a full history check, which covers information such as engine type, body style, assembly plant, vehicle type, etc.