Check vehicle information with International VIN
Looking for the VIN?
Here is there you’ll find it:
International Trucks have been built by the International Harvester Company since 1909. Since then, the company has grown to sell trucks worldwide, and has built or assembled trucks in North America, South America, Europe, and more — and in 1986 it took on its present-day moniker of Navistar International.
The International Harvester Corporation manufactures large trucks. An International VIN is a 17-character code that is used to identify the specific truck. Information about a specific International truck can be found using a VIN decoder, which reveals information about the vehicle's specifications and components. It wasn't until 1980 that the National Highway Transportation and Safety Administration (NHTSA) created a standard 17-character format for VINs in order to eliminate ongoing confusion about what every part number actually meant; therefore very limited information is available from International VINs prior to that time.
The International VIN decoder helps you decode the 17-character code (VIN) that uniquely identifies your vehicle and all the information related to it.
EpicVin offers an International VIN Decoder tool to help you track down your own truck. This tool is typically connected to a searchable database containing extensive entries about the year, make, model and engine type of any International truck. Use it to identify and track individual International vehicles for safety recalls and theft prevention purposes. EpicVin's online tools make it easy to run a DMV VIN check; meanwhile helping you verify seller information. We also offer history reports that can help you avoid buying problem vehicles.
If you plan to buy a car, it's important to know its history. The International's Vehicle Identification Number is an important tool that tells you the year of manufacture, where the vehicle was built, its trim level and its original equipment. Inconsistencies can reveal engine swaps and other changes that indicate the vehicle isn't original.
You can also use the VIN to search for vehicle history through the DMV. The VIN is a serial number that stays with the vehicle, allowing you to search through records going back to its date of manufacture.
To use the VIN decoder International search on our website, you first need to find the vehicle's VIN. This number is printed or stamped in several areas around the vehicle:
The Vehicle Identification Number identifies vehicles on registration and insurance forms. A VIN is usually printed on the title and other paperwork. Does your vehicle have a valid license plate number? Our license plate lookup will find the VIN currently registered to the plate, giving you the same information you’d get by entering the VIN directly into our search engine.
The Vehicle Identification Number is a unique number that identifies each vehicle. Each manufacturer has a slightly different way of encoding this number. Here's how International encodes each character in their VINs.
1st-2nd Characters – Manufacturing Country
The first number indicates the country where the vehicle was manufactured; 1 stands for the United States, 2 stands for Canada. All Canadian trucks were made by Chatham Ford in Ontario.
The second character indicates the manufacturer of the vehicle. The letter H is for International Harvester, which is now defunct.
3rd-4th Characters – Type of Vehicle and Weight Rating
The third and fourth characters indicate the type of vehicle and weight rating. For example, FC was used for the International Scout and FW for the DCO-405 trucks.
5th-7th Characters – Vehicle Type and Body Style
The fifth, sixth and seventh characters are for vehicle type and body style.
8th Character – Engine Configuration Information
The eighth character is used for engine configuration information. There were many sizes and types of engines used for International truck applications.
9th Character – Check Digit
The ninth character is the security character that confirms the vehicle identification number (VIN) is valid. It is generated from a mathematical formula with a weight factor table by the Department of Transportation.
10th Character – the Year of the International Vehicle Model
The 10th character gives the model year information. Meanings for the tenth character you can see below:
| A | 1980 |
| B | 1981 |
| C | 1982 |
| D | 1983 |
| E | 1984 |
| F | 1985 |
| G | 1986 |
| H | 1987 |
| J | 1988 |
| K | 1989 |
| L | 1990 |
| M | 1991 |
| N | 1992 |
| P | 1993 |
| R | 1994 |
| S | 1995 |
| T | 1996 |
| V | 1997 |
| W | 1998 |
| X | 1999 |
| Y | 2000 |
| 1 | 2001 |
| 2 | 2002 |
| 3 | 2003 |
| 4 | 2004 |
| 5 | 2005 |
| 6 | 2006 |
| 7 | 2007 |
| 8 | 2008 |
| 9 | 2009 |
11th Character – Assembly Plant
The 11th digit in the license plate indicates the plant location. International trucks were built at several different locations, including G for Fort Wayne, Indiana; H for Springfield, Illinois; C for Chatham, Ontario; Y for San Leandro, California and L for Bridgeport, Connecticut.
12th to 17th Characters
The last six characters of a production serial number, unique to each vehicle, indicate the date of manufacture.
he VIN is a 17-digit number that tells you about your International truck's history. It contains important information about the vehicle, including accident-free status, engine type and year manufactured. At any time that you want to buy a new or second-hand International truck, always check for an accurate VIN decoder before signing papers. Here are some example numbers:
Locations vary from manufacturer to manufacturer. However, there are three places you can find the code on most vehicles:
- Look through the windshield at the dashboard. On the driver’s side, you should see a small metal plate with the number stamped into it.
- Open the driver’s door. Look at the front and side of the door pillar for an I.D. sticker. It usually has the manufacturer’s logo on it. The code should be on this sticker.
- Open the hood. You may see a sticker on the firewall or near the passenger’s side strut tower. Some cars have the number engraved in one of these areas.
Since this number is used to identify the vehicle on official documents, you can also find it on the title, the window sticker, and on insurance policies.
We also decode numbers for RVs, heavy-duty trucks and motorcycles. If you need to decode an RV number, make sure it’s the one issued by the chassis manufacturer, not the RV outfitter.
No. Canadian and Mexican cars usually use the same format. Other countries use their own formats.
It’s up to the manufacturer to determine what they want to include for some parts of the number. For example, some companies don’t include information about transmissions or trim levels.
Usually, no. A few manufacturers stamp the code into the engine. If the VINs on the engine and car match, then it’s the original engine. On most vehicles, there isn’t anything that ties an engine to a specific vehicle. At most, looking up the vehicle on our website will tell you if a different type of engine was installed. For example, if someone swaps a V8 into a Ford Mustang, our site will tell you it originally came with a V6.
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