VIN 10th Digit: How to Read the Model Year

The 10th character of a VIN is the model year code. Federal rule 49 CFR 565.15 assigns one letter or number per year in a repeating 30-year cycle, so for recent cars A is 2010, L is 2020, T is 2026 and V is 2027. Because the cycle repeats, the 7th character tells you which round you are in for cars and light trucks: a number there means the year falls in 1980-2009, a letter means 2010-2039. If the year on a title or listing does not match what the 10th character says, stop and find out why before you pay.

Everything below comes straight from the regulation text on eCFR, section 565.15, which I reread on Saturday, October 17, 2026, plus the definitions and general rules in section 565.13 and section 565.12. Honestly, it is one of the shorter federal rules you will ever read, and the year table is right there in it.

The year code table

The regulation's Table VII lists the codes from 2005 forward. For the model years most used-car shoppers care about:

• 2005 = 5, 2006 = 6, 2007 = 7, 2008 = 8, 2009 = 9
• 2010 = A, 2011 = B, 2012 = C, 2013 = D, 2014 = E
• 2015 = F, 2016 = G, 2017 = H, 2018 = J, 2019 = K
• 2020 = L, 2021 = M, 2022 = N, 2023 = P, 2024 = R
• 2025 = S, 2026 = T, 2027 = V, 2028 = W, 2029 = X, 2030 = Y

The table then restarts at 1 for 2031 and runs through 9 for 2039. Count back 30 years and you get the codes for 2001 through 2004, which were 1 through 4. Notice what is missing from the year codes. Section 565.13 bans the letters I, O and Q anywhere in a VIN by leaving them out of the allowed character set. The year table also skips U, Z and the number 0. So a 10th character of U, Z, 0, I, O or Q is not a valid model year code, and a VIN with one of those there is either mistyped or not a real 17-character VIN.

How the 7th character settles the 30-year question

A 10th character of A could mean 1980 or 2010. The note to Table VII fixes that for passenger cars, multipurpose vehicles and trucks with a gross vehicle weight rating of 10,000 pounds or less: if position 7 is a number, the year is in 1980-2009; if position 7 is a letter, it is 2010-2039. Section 565.15 also requires position 7 to be alphabetic on those vehicles, which is how the switch works for newer cars. Here is a real example from the rule itself. The sample VIN that eCFR uses to show the check digit math has a 5 in position 10 and a 9 in position 7, so under this rule it reads as a 1985, not a 2035.

Heavier trucks and buses do not get that 7th-position rule, so on those you need the rest of the VIN, or a decoder, to know which cycle you are in. NHTSA's free vPIC decoder does this for you.

Model year is not the build year or the sale year

Section 565.12 defines model year as "the year used to designate a discrete vehicle model, irrespective of the calendar year in which the vehicle was actually produced," as long as the production period is no more than 24 months. That is why a car built in summer 2025 can legally be a 2026, and why a car that sat on a lot can be titled a year or two after its model year. The door-jamb label shows the build month. The VIN shows the model year. Both can be right and still disagree on the calendar.

When a year mismatch is a red flag

A gap between build date and model year is normal. A gap between the VIN's 10th character and the year on the title, the registration or the listing is not. It usually means one of three things: a typo at the DMV or on the listing, a seller rounding up to get a better price, or a VIN plate from another car. The third one is how cloned and re-tagged cars get caught. Our cloned VIN guide covers the physical checks, like comparing the dash plate with the door label and the title.

The 10th character works well alongside the 9th. Our VIN check digit explainer walks through the math in position 9, which catches most single-character typos. A VIN that passes the check digit and decodes to the right year still is not proven clean, but one that fails either test is not worth more of your time. Brand decoders like our Ford VIN decoder then explain the maker-specific characters in positions 4 through 8.

Use the year you decoded for recalls and the report

Recall lookups key on make, model and model year, so a wrong year can hide an open campaign. Our NHTSA recall check by VIN post shows how to search by the full VIN instead, which avoids the problem. Then check the title on NMVTIS and pull a history report that you ordered yourself. A seller's PDF can be edited in minutes, and changing one digit of a year is the easiest edit there is. Our guide on how to read a CARFAX report shows where the decoded year appears. CarVins is a licensed CARFAX and AutoCheck reseller with no ties to CARFAX, AutoCheck or Experian. Right now one report through us is roughly $5.50 as a guest or $4.50 for members, about $6.75 for both brands, compared with $39.99 to $44.99 or so from the brands direct. Check the total at checkout before you rely on those numbers.

Sources

• eCFR: 49 CFR 565.15, VIN content requirements
• eCFR: 49 CFR 565.13, general VIN requirements
• eCFR: 49 CFR 565.12, definitions
• NHTSA vPIC VIN decoder
• NMVTIS