FIG.02 · How many characters a VIN should have What you are holdingWhat it meansCan it be checked? 17 characters Standard VIN， or letters confused with digits Recount: I， 1981 onwards Yes — everything on this page 13 characters Pre-1981 car or a period motorcycle Recalls only， not a full VIN Identifies the batch， varies by manufacturer Rarely — federal databases start at 1981 18+ characters A typo， and only if the maker filed them 11 characters Usually a production-run prefix， not the individual car 5–12 characters Pre-1981 format。

O and Q never appear in a VIN ，。