The 10th character of a VIN is its model year. This chart covers 1980–2030.
The cycle is 30 characters long and then repeats, so a code names two years about thirty years apart: A is both 1980 and 2010, and B is both 1981 and 2011. Other positions settle which — a WMI that did not exist in 1980 rules out the earlier reading, which is how a decoder picks. The cycle omits U, Z and 0 as well as the I, O and Q that are illegal anywhere in a VIN, which is why it is 30 characters and not 33.
This chart is a reference and spans every defined code. VIN generation on this site is limited to 1980–2026, the range NHTSA's VPIC database covers.
| Model year | Position 10 | Also |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | A | — |
| 1981 | B | — |
| 1982 | C | — |
| 1983 | D | — |
| 1984 | E | — |
| 1985 | F | — |
| 1986 | G | — |
| 1987 | H | — |
| 1988 | J | — |
| 1989 | K | — |
| 1990 | L | — |
| 1991 | M | — |
| 1992 | N | — |
| 1993 | P | — |
| 1994 | R | — |
| 1995 | S | — |
| 1996 | T | — |
| 1997 | V | — |
| 1998 | W | — |
| 1999 | X | — |
| 2000 | Y | — |
| 2001 | 1 | — |
| 2002 | 2 | — |
| 2003 | 3 | — |
| 2004 | 4 | — |
| 2005 | 5 | — |
| 2006 | 6 | — |
| 2007 | 7 | — |
| 2008 | 8 | — |
| 2009 | 9 | — |
| 2010 | A | 1980 |
| 2011 | B | 1981 |
| 2012 | C | 1982 |
| 2013 | D | 1983 |
| 2014 | E | 1984 |
| 2015 | F | 1985 |
| 2016 | G | 1986 |
| 2017 | H | 1987 |
| 2018 | J | 1988 |
| 2019 | K | 1989 |
| 2020 | L | 1990 |
| 2021 | M | 1991 |
| 2022 | N | 1992 |
| 2023 | P | 1993 |
| 2024 | R | 1994 |
| 2025 | S | 1995 |
| 2026 | T | 1996 |
| 2027 | V | 1997 |
| 2028 | W | 1998 |
| 2029 | X | 1999 |
| 2030 | Y | 2000 |
Source: 49 CFR Part 565. Codes computed by @vinfoundry/core, the same code that decodes VINs on this site.