Calculation of the VIN Check Digit

Step 1: Assign to each number in the VIN its actual mathematical value and assign to each letter the value specified for it in the following table:

Letter in VIN	A	B	C	D	E	F	G	H	J	K	L	M	N	P	R	S	T	U	V	W	X	Y	Z
Value assigned	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	1	2	3	4	5	7	9	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9

Step 2: Multiply the assigned value for each character in the VIN by the position weight factor specified in the following table:

Position in VIN	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th	11th	12th	13th	14th	15th	16th	17th
Weight factor specified	8	7	6	5	4	3	2	10	N/A	9	8	7	6	5	4	3	2

Step 3: Add the resulting products and divide the total by 11.

Step 4: The numerical remainder is the check digit. If the remainder is 10 the letter “X” shall be used to designate the check digit. The correct numeric remainder, zero through nine (0-9) or the letter “X”, shall appear in VIN position nine 9.

A sample check digit calculation is shown in the following table:

VIN Position	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	10	12	13	14	15	16	17
Sample VIN	J	H	2	R	C	3	6	0	tbd	M	M	1	0	1	5	8	1
Assigned values	1	8	2	9	3	3	6	0	N/A	4	4	1	0	1	5	8	1
Weight factor	8	7	6	5	4	3	2	10	N/A	9	8	7	6	5	4	3	2
product	8	56	12	45	12	9	12	0	N/A	36	32	7	0	5	20	24	2

Add products: 8 + 56 + 12 + 45 + 12 + 9 + 12 + 0 + 36 + 32 + 7 + 0 + 5 + 20 + 24 + 2 == 280

Divide the total by 11: 280/11 = 25 5/11. The remainder is 5.

Accordingly, 5 is the check digit to be inserted in position nine of the VIN: JH2RC3605MM101581