Volvo VIN decoder · factory build sheet

Volvo VIN decoder — read the VIN, then the build sheet

A Volvo 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 Volvo it is, free. The factory build sheet lists every option code, each with Volvo's own category name, the paint and the interior: $7.99, only charged if it exists.

Decode your Volvo 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

2023 Volvo XC90 T8 plug-in hybrid, built for the UK

Paint

723

DENIM BLUE

Other rows on the same sheet

NG02: UPHOLSTERY MATERIAL Leather Moritz
2G03: PARKING CAMERA Parking camera 360
KI04: TRAFFIC JAM ASSIST With Traffic Jam Assist 3

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

How do I decode a Volvo VIN?

Positions 1 to 3 are the manufacturer code (YV1, YV4, 7JR and others), 4 to 8 Volvo'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 Volvo's factory build sheet.

Volvo manufacturer codes (positions 1 to 3)

Code	NHTSA lists it under	Vehicle type
YV1	Volvo Car Corporation	Passenger cars
YV4	Volvo Car Corporation	SUVs
7JR	Volvo Car USA	Passenger cars
7JD	Volvo Car USA	SUVs (listed since 2024)
LVY	Daqing Volvo Car Manufacturing, China	Passenger cars
LYV	Daqing Volvo Car Manufacturing, China	SUVs

Volvo Cars and the Volvo truck maker are different companies, and NHTSA lists both under Volvo. Codes beginning 4V belong to Volvo Group North America, the truck maker; the car and SUV codes NHTSA lists for Volvo Cars are the six above. The first three characters name the company, not always the factory: the XC40 we decoded was built in Belgium and still starts YV4.

Reading the rest of a US Volvo VIN

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

Code	Model (model year)	Position 11	Built in
YV1	V60 (2017)	1	Torslanda, Sweden
YV4	XC90 (2018)	1	Torslanda, Sweden
YV4	XC60 (2020)	1	Sweden
YV4	XC40 (2020)	2	Belgium
7JR	S60 (2020)	G	South Carolina

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

The factory build sheet is Volvo's own record of how one vehicle left the production line: every option code, each with Volvo's own category name, the paint (with its code where Volvo records one), the interior and the transmission. No prices. A real one, in part:

Paint: DENIM BLUE (723)
NG02: UPHOLSTERY MATERIAL Leather Moritz
2G03: PARKING CAMERA Parking camera 360
KI04: TRAFFIC JAM ASSIST With Traffic Jam Assist 3

From the real build sheet of a Volvo XC90 T8 plug-in hybrid built in March 2023 for the UK market, not the US (374 entries), as Volvo 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 Volvo vehicles first: 5 of 5, model years 2017 to 2020, each with 311 to 388 entries.

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

A free Volvo 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 Volvo VIN tell you?

The manufacturer code (YV1, YV4, 7JR and others), Volvo'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 Volvo's options from the VIN?

Not from the VIN itself: the options were never encoded in it. They're in Volvo's production records, and the factory build sheet lists every option code, each with Volvo's own category name, 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 Volvo holds one.

Is there a free Volvo VIN decoder?

For the structure, yes: NHTSA's decoder reads what Volvo 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 Volvo build sheet that lists them is $7.99.

Is a VIN starting 4V a Volvo car?

No. NHTSA lists the 4V codes under Volvo Group North America, the truck maker, which is a different company from Volvo Cars. A Volvo car or SUV in NHTSA's list starts YV1, YV4, 7JR, 7JD, LVY or LYV.

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

Does the build sheet work for every Volvo?

We tested it on real US Volvo vehicles before offering it: 5 of 5, model years 2017 to 2020, came back with 311 to 388 entries. Where Volvo holds nothing for a VIN, you're told so and nothing is charged.

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

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

Get the Volvo build sheet

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

Enter the VIN