VIN & WMI

Navindra Gautam
Dy Director (IR&TISD)
Bureau of Indian Standards

Vehicle Identification Number

A Vehicle Identification Number, commonly
abbreviated to VIN, is a unique serial number used by
the automotive industry to identify individual motor
vehicles.
Prior to 1980, there was not an accepted standard
for these numbers, so different manufacturers used
different formats.
Modern day VINs consist of 17 characters which do
not include the letters I, O or Q.

 At present, Vehicle Identification Number systems are

based on two related standards, originally issued by the
International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in 1979
and 1980; ISO 3779 and ISO 3780, respectively.
Compatible but somewhat different implementations of
these ISO standards have been adopted by the European
Union and the United States of America.
It specifies the content and structure of VIN in order to
establish, on a world-wide basis, a uniform identification
numbering system for road vehicles.
ISO 3779: Road Vehicles VIN Content & Structure.
ISO 3780: Road Vehicles WMI Code.

Field of application
(As per ISO 3833)

Motors Vehicles
Trailers
Motor-cycles
Mopeds

MANUFACTURER
A person, firm, or Corporation under
whose responsibility a vehicle has been
assembled to form a unit which is ready
for operation.
The manufacturer is responsible for the
uniqueness of the VIN.

Components of VIN
VIN contains 17 digits
1-3 digits = World Manufacturer Identifier
Number (WMI)
4-9 digits = Vehicle Descriptor Section (VDS)
10-17 digits = Vehicle Indicator Section (VIS)

COMPONENTS OF VIN
Standard 1

ISO 3779

WMI

VDS

10

11

12

13

14

VIS

15

16

17

World Manufacturer Identifier

The first three characters uniquely identify
the manufacturer of the vehicle using the
World Manufacturer Identifier or WMI
code.
A manufacturer who builds fewer than 500
vehicles per year uses a 9 as the third digit
and the 12th, 13th and 14th position of the
VIN for a second part of the identification.

Registration Authority of WMI

The Society of Automotive Engineers
(SAE) in the US assigns/registers WMIs to
countries and manufacturers.
The first character of the WMI is the region
in which the manufacturer is located. In
practice, each is assigned to a country of
manufacture.

Coding of WMI Number

1 to 5

North America

S to Z

Europe

A to H

Africa

J to R

Asia
(MA-ME = India)

6 and 7

Oceania

8 and 9

South America

Vehicle Descriptor Section

The 4th through 9th positions in the VIN are the
Vehicle Descriptor Section or VDS.
Used according to local regulations to identify
the vehicle type and may include information on
the platform used, the model, and the body style.
Each manufacturer has a unique system for
using this field. Most manufacturers since the
1980s have used the 8th digit to identify the
engine type whenever there is more than one
engine choice for the vehicle.

Vehicle Identifier Section

The 10th through 17th positions are used
as the Vehicle Identifier Section or VIS.
This is used by the manufacturer to
identify the individual vehicle in question.
This may include information on options
installed or engine and transmission
choices, but often is a simple sequential
number.
The last five digits shall be numeric.

Model year encoding

One consistent element of the VIS is the
10th digit, which is required to encode the
model year of the vehicle.
Besides the three letters that are not
allowed in the VIN itself (I, O and Q), the
letters U and Z and the digit 0 are not used
for the model year code.
Note: The year code is the model year for the vehicle.

Plant Code
The 11th character encodes the factory of
manufacture of the vehicle.
Although each manufacturer has their own
set of plant codes, their location in the VIN
is standardized.

Procedure for WMI Registration

Receipt of the application & Verification of
supporting documents
Proposal of WMI code as per the series
and entry of the same in the BIS database
Registration with SAE International, USA
Confirmation letter from SAE International
Communication of WMI to the applicant
firm

Requirements for WMI Number

1. Name, address of the firm and location of the manufacturing unit,
2. Photocopy of Memorandum of Article,
3. Photocopy of the industrial license (attested by an Authorized
signatory) to carry out the manufacturing of automobiles,
4. Installation capacity and number of vehicles manufactured per year
along-with the technical details of the vehicles, brand name etc
(model-wise),
5. Whether using any Coding system at present, if yes its details,
6. Size of the firm i.e. small scale or large scale,
7. Detail of VDS and Section of VIN along-with drawings as specified in
ISO 3779/3780/4030,
8. A DD of Rs 5000/- + 12.36% = Rs 5618/- in favour of Bureau of Indian
Standards payable at New Delhi
9. Number of vehicles to be produced in the current year (proposed).
Email Address: info@bis.org.in

THANK YOU