BMW VIN · service history and factory build sheet

BMW VIN decoder — the service history, then the factory options

A BMW VIN names the company that built it, the model line and engine type, the model year and the plant. It doesn't tell you what the car has been through or what it was ordered with. With the VIN we read the BMW dealer service history first ($14.99, nothing charged if no records are found), then, if you want it, the factory build sheet with every option ($7.99).

BMW service history by VIN

The visits BMW centers logged against the VIN: the date, the mileage, the dealership and the work done. $14.99, and nothing is charged if no records are found.

Official dealer recordsResults in minutesNo records = no charge

What can you find out from a BMW VIN?

The VIN gives the manufacturer code (WBA, 5UX, WBX and others), BMW's code for the model line, body and engine, the model year and the plant. Its real use is as a key: with it you can read the dealer service history BMW centers logged and the factory build sheet, which lists every option code BMW recorded, such as s0610 for the head-up display, the paint and the interior. The options aren't in the VIN itself.

BMW manufacturer codes (positions 1 to 3)

Code	NHTSA lists it under	Vehicle type
WBA	BMW AG	Passenger cars
5UX, 5YM	BMW Manufacturer Corporation / BMW North America	SUVs
WBX, WB5	BMW AG	SUVs
WBS	BMW M GmbH	Passenger cars
WBY	BMW AG	Passenger cars
3MW, 3MF	BMW AG	Passenger cars
4US	BMW Manufacturer Corporation / BMW North America	Passenger cars
WMW, WMZ	BMW AG, under the MINI make	MINI cars and SUVs
WB1, WB3, WB4	BMW AG Motorcycles	Motorcycles

In the US VINs we decoded, the X3, X5 and X7 were built in Greer, South Carolina, and started 5UX, the code of BMW's US company; the 3, 4 and 5 Series built in Germany and Austria started WBA; and the 3 Series built in Mexico started 3MW. NHTSA lists more than a dozen codes for BMW in all, motorcycles included.

Reading the rest of a US BMW VIN

Positions 4 to 8 are BMW's own code for the model line, body type, engine type and restraint systems, filed with NHTSA. We don't list them: BMW 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 BMW VINs we decoded with NHTSA's decoder:

Code	Model (model year)	Position 11	Built in
5UX	X3 (2018, 2022), X5 (2020, 2021), X7 (2022)	L or 9	Greer, South Carolina
WBA	320i (2015)	K	Munich, Germany
WBA	430i (2022)	C	Dingolfing, Germany
WBA	530i (2017, 2023)	W	Graz, Austria
3MW	M340i (2021), 330i (2023)	8	San Luis Potosí, Mexico
WBX	X1 (2024)	5	Regensburg, Germany

What those VINs showed, not a full list of BMW'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 a BMW 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 BMW'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 a BMW build sheet

The factory build sheet is BMW's own record of how one vehicle left the production line: every option code BMW recorded, such as s0610 for the head-up display, the paint (with its code where BMW records one), the interior and the transmission. No prices. A real one, in part:

s0610: Head Up Display
s05dn: Parking Assistant Plus
s0402: Panorama glass roof
s0453: Active seat ventilation, front
s04fl: Travel & Comfort System
s0322: Comfort access system

From a real 2020 BMW X5 sDrive40i build sheet (66 option codes), codes as BMW 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 BMW vehicles first: 4 of 4, model years 2015 to 2020, each with 41 to 66 entries.

For a closer look at BMW's record, see the BMW build sheet by VIN.

Get the BMW build sheet

Enter the VIN. We show you which vehicle it is first, free. The build sheet is $7.99, only charged if BMW holds one.

The VIN and the BMW service history

Each visit to a BMW center is logged against the VIN with the date, the mileage, the dealership and the work performed, and it stays with the VIN when the car is sold. The form at the top of this page reads that record for $14.99, and nothing is charged if no records are found. More on the BMW service history check.

A free BMW 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 a BMW VIN tell you?

The manufacturer code (WBA, 5UX, WBX and others), BMW'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 a BMW's options from the VIN?

Not from the VIN itself: the options were never encoded in it. They're in BMW's production records, and the factory build sheet lists every option code BMW recorded, such as s0610 for the head-up display, 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 BMW holds one.

Is there a free BMW option decoder?

Yes: several free sites list a BMW's options from the VIN, and they often do the job. Our factory build sheet ($7.99) is BMW's own production record for that car, with the paint and the upholstery. What no decoder gives you is the BMW dealer service history: the visits BMW centers logged against the VIN, for $14.99, and nothing is charged if no records are found.

Why do some BMW VINs start 5UX and others WBA?

The first three characters name the company that assigned the VIN and the type of vehicle. NHTSA lists 5UX under BMW's US company, for SUVs: the X3, X5 and X7 we decoded with it were built in Greer, South Carolina. WBA is BMW AG's code for passenger cars; ours were built in Munich, Dingolfing and Graz.

How do I tell a BMW'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 BMW VIN we decoded. It's the model year, not the date the vehicle was built.

Does the build sheet work for every BMW?

We tested it on real US BMW vehicles before offering it: 4 of 4, model years 2015 to 2020, came back with 41 to 66 entries. Where BMW holds nothing for a VIN, you're told so and nothing is charged.

Can I get a BMW's service history from the VIN?

Yes. Dealer service visits are filed under the VIN, and the BMW service history check reads them: the date, the mileage, the dealership and the work done, for $14.99, and nothing is charged if no records are found.

Check the BMW's service history

The visits BMW centers logged against the VIN, for $14.99. Nothing is charged if no records are found.

Go to the VIN check