Key points
- The VIN contains WMI, VDS, a position-9 check digit and VIS.
- The completed VIN contains exactly 17 characters with no spaces.
- I, O and Q are prohibited and the last four VIS positions are digits.
- Manufacturers must ensure uniqueness and 30-year VIN traceability.
What the regulation covers
Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/535 establishes technical specifications for the EU type-approval of vehicles in categories M, N and O. Annex II covers the statutory plate and vehicle identification number.
For VIN work, Part 2 is the operational reference. Section A defines the statutory marking and VIN composition requirements; Section C defines the mathematical check-digit method.
The four parts of the 17-character VIN
Positions 1–3 form the World Manufacturer Identifier. Positions 4–8 form the Vehicle Descriptor Section. Position 9 is the calculated check digit. Positions 10–17 form the Vehicle Indicator Section.
The sections are not interchangeable. A manufacturer should document the approved logic used for each vehicle type and keep the serial portion controlled so every completed VIN remains unique.
Character and filling rules
The VIN uses capital Roman letters and Arabic numerals. The letters I, O and Q are not permitted. There are no spaces between characters.
The VDS always contains five characters. Unused VDS positions must still be filled. The VIS always contains eight characters, its last four positions are digits, and unused VIS space is filled with zero.
Uniqueness, production marking and 30-year traceability
The 2024 amendment inserted explicit requirements that a VIN is marked on each vehicle, is unique and unequivocally attributed to a particular vehicle, and is marked when the vehicle leaves the production line.
It also requires the manufacturer to ensure vehicle traceability by means of the VIN for 30 years. A calculation tool helps with position 9, but traceability still depends on controlled profiles, duplicate prevention and durable production records.
What a calculator can and cannot do
A calculator can apply the character-value table, fixed position weights and division-by-11 result consistently. It can also reject obvious structural errors before a VIN enters production records.
It cannot assign a WMI, approve a manufacturer’s VDS or VIS logic, or replace type-approval documentation. Those remain within the manufacturer and competent-authority process.
ManageVIN is a calculation and record-management aid. It does not assign WMI codes and does not replace an approval authority or professional compliance review.
