Audi VIN decoder · factory build sheet

Audi VIN decoder — read the VIN, then the option codes

An Audi VIN names the company that built it, the model line and engine type, the model year and the plant, and gives it a serial number. It doesn't tell you the options, the paint or the interior. Enter the VIN to see which Audi it is, free. The factory build sheet lists every option as a three-character PR code with its description, the paint and the interior: $7.99, only charged if it exists.

Decode your Audi VIN

We show you which vehicle it is first, free, then you decide.

The VIN is at the base of the windshield on the driver's side, on the door-jamb sticker, and on the title, registration and insurance card.

What you get

2020 Audi SQ5 TDI, built for Europe

Paint

Navarra blue metallic

Other rows on the same sheet

Interior: Soul (black) (OQ)
3FU: Panoramic glass sunroof
8G4: Matrix LED headlamps with dynamic light design and dynamic turn signal

Rows from a real Audi build sheet for the European market, not the US, as Audi records them. We hold no stored US Audi sheet yet.

How do I decode an Audi VIN?

Positions 1 to 3 are the manufacturer code (WAU, WA1, WUA and others), 4 to 8 Audi's own code for the model line, body and engine, 9 a check digit, 10 the model year, 11 the plant and 12 to 17 the serial number. The options, the paint and the interior aren't in the VIN; they're on Audi's factory build sheet.

Audi manufacturer codes (positions 1 to 3)

Code	NHTSA lists it under	Vehicle type
WAU	Audi AG	Passenger cars
WA1	Audi AG	SUVs
WUA	Audi Sport GmbH	Passenger cars
WU1	Audi Sport GmbH	SUVs
TRU	Audi AG, registered in Hungary	Passenger cars

In the US Audis we decoded, the A3, A4 and A6 started WAU and the Q5 started WA1: NHTSA lists WAU as Audi AG's code for passenger cars and WA1 for SUVs. Codes beginning WU belong to Audi Sport GmbH, which NHTSA lists separately.

Reading the rest of a US Audi VIN

Positions 4 to 8 are Audi's own code for the model line, body type, engine type and restraint systems, filed with NHTSA. We don't list them: Audi sets them model by model, and NHTSA's free VIN decoder reads them for any VIN. Position 9 is the check digit, position 10 the model year (L for 2020, N for 2022 and R for 2024), position 11 the plant and positions 12 to 17 the serial number.

Here is what positions 1 to 3 and 11 said on the real US Audi VINs we decoded with NHTSA's decoder:

Code	Model (model year)	Position 11	Built in
WAU	A3 (2022)	A	Ingolstadt, Germany
WAU	A4 (2019), A6 (2023)	N	Neckarsulm, Germany
WA1	Q5 (2016)	A	Ingolstadt, Germany

What those VINs showed, not a full list of Audi's plant codes. Position 10 matched the model year on every one.

What the VIN doesn't tell you

No decoder, free or paid, can read these from an Audi VIN, because they aren't in it:

The options and packages the vehicle was ordered with: the sunroof, the sound system, the driver assistance package.
The paint and its code, and the interior color and upholstery.
The price it sold for new.
The history: services, mileage, owners, accidents.

The options, the paint and the interior are in Audi's production records, which is what the factory build sheet reads. The price was on the original window sticker, and the history is in dealer service records.

What's on an Audi build sheet

The factory build sheet is Audi's own record of how one vehicle left the production line: every option as a three-character PR code with its description, the paint (with its code where Audi records one), the interior and the transmission. No prices. A real one, in part:

Paint: Navarra blue metallic (2D)
Interior: Soul (black) (OQ)
3FU: Panoramic glass sunroof
8G4: Matrix LED headlamps with dynamic light design and dynamic turn signal

From the real build sheet of an Audi SQ5 TDI built in January 2020 for the European market, not the US (190 entries), as Audi records them.

It answers what a VIN can't: whether the vehicle really has the package in the ad, the exact paint for a touch-up, the trim for a replacement part. We tested it on real US Audi vehicles first: 4 of 4, model years 2016 to 2023, each with 154 to 196 entries.

Audi doesn't offer its original window stickers online; the Audi window sticker page explains what the build sheet gives you instead.

A free Audi VIN decode from NHTSA

NHTSA's free VIN decoder reads the fields the maker filed for a VIN: the make, the model, the model year, the body, the engine and the plant. It's run by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, it's free, and it's the source of the codes on these pages. Like every decoder, it stops at what the VIN encodes, so it can't show the options, the paint or the interior.

We aren't affiliated with any manufacturer. We aren't affiliated with NHTSA either.

Where to find the VIN

Through the windshield, at the bottom corner on the driver's side.
On the sticker inside the driver's door jamb.
On the title, the registration card and the insurance ID card.

A VIN always has 17 characters and never contains the letters I, O or Q.

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

What does an Audi VIN tell you?

The manufacturer code (WAU, WA1, WUA and others), Audi's own code for the model line, body, engine type and restraint systems, a check digit, the model year, the plant and a serial number. It doesn't tell you the options, the paint or the interior: those are on the factory build sheet, which we read from the VIN for $7.99.

Can I see an Audi's options from the VIN?

Not from the VIN itself: the options were never encoded in it. They're in Audi's production records, and the factory build sheet lists every option as a three-character PR code with its description, plus the paint and the interior. We show you which vehicle the VIN is first, free; the build sheet is $7.99, only charged if Audi holds one.

Is there a free Audi VIN decoder?

For the structure, yes: NHTSA's decoder reads what Audi filed for any VIN, free, and this page explains each character. The identification in our form is free too. What no decoder can read is the options, the paint and the interior; the Audi build sheet that lists them is $7.99.

What are Audi PR codes?

PR codes, or PR numbers, are the three-character codes the Volkswagen Group uses for each option and equipment item, such as 3FU for the panoramic glass sunroof on the sheet above. They aren't in the VIN. The factory build sheet lists every one with its description, for $7.99.

How do I tell an Audi's model year from the VIN?

Look at position 10. On a vehicle built for the US it's always the model year, from a fixed table: L for 2020, N for 2022 and R for 2024. It matched the model year on every US Audi VIN we decoded. It's the model year, not the date the vehicle was built.

Does the build sheet work for every Audi?

We tested it on real US Audi vehicles before offering it: 4 of 4, model years 2016 to 2023, came back with 154 to 196 entries. Where Audi holds nothing for a VIN, you're told so and nothing is charged.

Can I get an Audi's service history from the VIN?

Not from us in the United States. When we tested real US Audi VINs, no dealer service records came back, so we don't sell an Audi service history check here. Ask the seller for the receipts and the maintenance booklet, and compare them with the maintenance schedule.

Get the Audi build sheet

Every option code, the paint and the interior, $7.99, only if Audi holds a build sheet.

Enter the VIN