How to Check and Decode a Kia VIN

You can decode a Kia VIN by breaking down the 17-digit code, which represents the car’s country of origin, manufacturer, vehicle information, model year, and assembly plant.

QUICK LOOK

• Your Kia vehicle identification number (VIN) can be found either on the front sidewall of the engine bay, the top of the dashboard, or on the driver’s side door jamb.
• Your VIN contains coded information on the type of engine or transmission in your Kia, its country and manufacturing plant of origin, and its make, year, model, and body type.
• You might need your VIN as part of the process to renew your driver’s license, update your vehicle’s registration, or sell your car.

How to check your Kia VIN

Your Kia’s VIN is its vehicle identification number: a unique string of 17 digits that identifies your car across legal documents and car history reports.

You can find your Kia VIN in the following locations:

• Your insurance card
• Your DMV-issued registration card
• Punched on the front sidewall of the engine bay
• At the top of your dashboard, where it meets the windshield
• On the vehicle certification label found on the driver’s door jamb

A few circumstances when you may need a Kia VIN check include:

• Buying a used car: Use a VIN lookup to generate a vehicle history report for a used Kia being purchased from a private seller.
• Identifying a stolen vehicle: Your VIN helps law enforcement identify your Kia after you report car theft—especially if the license plates have been removed.
• Selling a car: The VIN helps you identify your vehicle to prospective buyers and will need to be listed on the bill of sale.
• Renewal documents: The DMV requires VINs when renewing your license or vehicle registration to keep all the documents in order.
• NHTSA check: You can use the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) free VIN decoder to check your specific model’s information, safety ratings, and recall history.

How to decode a Kia VIN

The 17-digits of your Kia VIN hold a universal set of meaning expressed through a combination of the following:

• Numeric digits: 0 through 9
• Letters of the alphabet: All except I, O, and Q (since these can be confused with numbers)

First position: country of origin

The first three digits are the world manufacturer identifier (WMI) code.

• The first digit: Refers to the production location, or the country where the car was manufactured

The United States is represented with a VIN code of 1 or 4, but you will likely see a “K” for Korea on your Kia.

Positions 2-3: manufacturer information

The following two digits represent identifying information with regard to the vehicle manufacturer:

• The second digit: Refers to the brand of your car, which in this case will be an “N” for Kia.
• The third digit: Indicates the vehicle type of your Kia. For a Kia Forte or Optima, you may see an A for passenger car.

Positions 4-8: vehicle-specific information

The following five digits of your vehicle’s VIN make up the Vehicle Descriptor Section (VDS). These specifications help to narrow down the specific model and trim configuration of the Kia car you are driving:

• The fourth digit: Kia model
• The fifth digit: The series of model or trim specification
• The sixth and seventh digits: Body type (e.g. sedan, hatchback, SUV)
• The eight digit: Engine type (specifically engine size and horsepower)

Position 9: the VIN check digit

The ninth digit is a unique “check digit” based on the other numbers in the VIN and is used to prevent fake VINS.

Why it matters: It would be easy to generate a fake VIN since most of the other Kia VIN number and letter positions are standardized and can be found online. The 9th digit helps prevent fraud and verify the unique VIN code for your specific Kia.

Position 10: model year

As the years go by, the system for referencing model years gets more complicated. We are seeing more VINs re-use digits that already refer to earlier Kia models.

Here’s a breakdown of the Kia VIN model year codes over the last 20 years:

Position 11: assembly plant

The eleventh digit refers to the specific assembly plant of your Kia. Kia has plants in the following locations:

• Korea: Four plants
• Slovakia: One plant
• Georgia: One plant

Positions 12-17: vehicle serial number

The final six digits of a VIN represent the specific car’s serial number. This number is unique to your Kia and is generally assigned while in assembly.

Want more info? Try typing your VIN into a Kia VIN decoder to get specific information about your vehicle.

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Sarah Williams

Sarah Williams is an insurance writer who specializes in topics pertaining to car insurance and car ownership. It’s Sarah’s goal to take educational pieces and make them accessible to all car owners through top-notch research and engaging storytelling. To this end, Sarah has written over 200 published articles on car insurance, with a focus on make and model reviews, car specs, and car maintenance. Prior to joining Jerry’s editorial team, Sarah worked as a freelance content creator for clients like Ottawa Artisans.

Pat Roache

Pat Roache is an insurance writer with over two years of experience in the automotive industry. With a focus on car insurance, maintenance, and brand reviews, Pat’s mission is to create engaging and accessible content that empowers readers to take autonomy over their car ownership. As a writer and editor with Jerry, Pat has penned over 600 original articles and edited over 1,000. Pat’s 8+ years of experience in the performing arts as a writer, director, producer, and performer lend to their keen eye for research and presentation. Most recently, Pat’s new English translation of Donizetti’s Italian opera “D[x]n Pasquale” had its world premiere in 2022 with Opera MODO (Detroit, MI). Pat also writes grants for an LGBTQ arts non-profit in Chicago, IL.