Break down a 1962 Corvette's 12-character VIN digit by digit: the 2 for model year, 08 for the Corvette series, 67 for convertible, S for St. Louis and the six-digit sequence number, plus where the stainless tag is mounted.
CORVETTE RESEARCH
Corvette VIN Decoder: Every Model Year, 1953 to Today
The Corvette’s vehicle identification number has used five formats in seventy-three years, from the ten characters stamped on a 1953 to the seventeen on a 2027, and every one of them tells you the year, the body, the plant and the car’s place in the run; the later ones add the engine, the trim and the model. This page explains each format, where to find the number and how to use it to verify a car, with a decoder page for every model year.
The Basics
What This Is: The format of the Corvette VIN for every model year, what each character means, where the number is stamped and how to decode and verify one, with a page per year giving that year’s codes and sequence range
Years Covered: 1953 to 2027, every model year except 1983; the generation decoders for the C1–C4 bring the early formats together
The Formats: 10 characters (1953–59); 12 (1960–64); 13 (1965–80); 17 (1981 on, the federal standard, with the engine, model and plant codes and a check digit)
Where to Find It: Driver’s door post (1953–59), steering column under the hood (1960–67), left windshield pillar (1968–82), dashboard at the base of the windshield and the door label (1984 on); stamped on the frame on every C1–C3 and on the engine pad and transmission on most years
What It Proves: The year, the body style, the plant and the sequence; from 1972 the engine class, from 1981 the engine, the model and a check digit. Never the color, the options or the original engine’s serial, which take the trim tag, the build sheet or tank sticker and the engine pad
Related Research: The year pages carry the full VIN table, the engine suffix codes and the production count the sequence confirms; the production index gives the totals
The Overview
A Corvette VIN is the one number that cannot be swapped without leaving a trace, which is why it is where every inspection starts. The early cars carried a ten-character serial that gave the year, the plant and the car’s number in the run; the 1960 format added the body code, the 1965 format a character for the engine family, the 1972 format an engine class, and from 1981 every Corvette has carried the seventeen-character federal VIN with the maker, the model, the engine, the plant and a check digit. Each generation’s table below gives every year’s format with a link to that year’s page, where the codes are decoded and the sequence range is matched to the production count.
What the VIN tells you grows with the years. On a 1963 it tells you the car is a Sport Coupe built in St. Louis and that it was the 1,513th 1963; it does not tell you the engine, which is on the engine pad, or the color, which is on the trim tag. On a 1990 it tells you the ZR-1 from the Z in the fourth position; on a 2009 it tells you the ZR1 from the engine code T and the plant from the 5; on a 2019 it separates a Stingray from a Grand Sport, Z06 or ZR1 by the fifth character and the manual from the automatic by the same letter. The year pages give each year’s table.
Decoding is the easy part; verifying is the point. A matching-numbers Corvette is one whose engine pad carries the last digits of the VIN, as every Corvette engine has since 1960, with a date code that precedes the car’s build date and a suffix that matches the equipment; the VIN on the dash should match the frame stamp, the trim tag and the paperwork. The explainer below walks through it, the generation decoders bring the early formats together, and each year page carries the engine suffixes and the sequence range for that year.
How to Decode and Verify a Corvette VIN
Five formats, one method. Find the number, place it in its era, read the positions, then match it to the frame, the engine and the paperwork. The year page for the car gives its exact table; this is the map.
1953 to 1959: ten characters
The first Corvettes carried a plate on the driver’s door post reading, for example, E53F001001: E for the engine (E = Blue Flame six in 1953–54, VE for the V-8 in 1955, then E again), the model year, F for the Flint plant in 1953 or S for St. Louis from 1954, and a sequence number starting at 001001. The 1953 run is 001001 to 001300; 1954 reaches 004640; a 1957 runs E57S100001 to E57S106339. There is no body code because every C1 was a convertible, and no engine detail beyond the six-or-eight prefix; the engine pad, the date codes and the tank sticker do the rest.
1960 to 1964: twelve characters
From 1960 the plate moved to the steering column under the hood and the number grew to twelve characters: 00867S100001 for a 1960, where 0 is the year, 0867 the model and body (08 = Corvette, 67 = convertible; 37 = coupe from 1963), S the plant and the rest the sequence. The 1963 run is 30837S100001 to 121513 for coupes and convertibles together, which is how the sequence confirms the 21,513-car production figure. The split-window year’s VINs are the most forged in the hobby, which is why the year page also gives the trim tag and engine codes.
1965 to 1980: thirteen characters
The 1965 format added a character for the engine family: 194675S100001, read as 1 for Chevrolet, 94 for Corvette, 6 or 3 for the body (67 convertible, 37 coupe), 7 for the year, S for the plant and a six-digit sequence. From 1972 the fifth character became an engine class, K for the base small block, L for the LT-1, W for the 454 and so on, which is the first time the VIN says anything about the engine; from 1968 the plate sat on the left windshield pillar, visible from outside. The 1978 Pace Car carried its own series, 1Z87L8S900001 to 906502, which is how a real one is told from a decaled Silver Anniversary car.
1981 to today: seventeen characters
The federal VIN arrived on the 1981 Corvette, 1G1AY8764BS400001 for a St. Louis car and 1G1AY8764B5100001 for a Bowling Green car, the only year with two plants in the number. Positions 1–3 give the country, maker and division, 4–5 the line and series, 6–7 the body, 8 the engine, 9 the check digit, 10 the year, 11 the plant and 12–17 the sequence. The letters that matter: the fourth character Z for a ZR-1 (1990–95); the eighth-position engine codes, J for the LT5, P for the LT1, W for the LS3, E for the LS7, T for the LS9, 6 for the LT4, J again for the LT5 of 2019; and from 2014 the fifth character, which separates Stingray, Grand Sport, Z06 and ZR1 and manual from automatic. The year pages carry each year’s table, and the 1998 Pace Car, 2004 Commemorative, 2007 Ron Fellows, 2008 and 2009 editions have their own sequence pages.
Matching numbers: what to check
The VIN on the plate should match the stamp on the frame (on the C1–C3, at the rear kick-up and the front cross-member), the partial VIN on the engine pad (from 1960) and the transmission, the trim tag, and the tank sticker, build sheet, Protect-O-Plate or window sticker that documents the options. The engine pad also carries a date code and a suffix; the date must precede the car’s build date by days to weeks, and the suffix must match the equipment the car claims, because a 300-horsepower 350 wearing LT-1 badges is the commonest fake in the hobby. The NCRS judging manuals and the Bloomington Gold process are the authorities for 1953–82 cars; GM’s own records, the window sticker and the build sheet are the authority after that.
MORE: C1 DECODER / C2 DECODER / C3 DECODER / C4 DECODER
Corvette VIN Formats by Era
Five formats in seventy-three years. The table gives each era’s length, where the plate sits, what the positions mean and an example, with the generation decoders linked; the tables that follow give every year’s format and sequence range.
Sequence numbers restart every model year, at 001001 on the C1 and 100001 from 1960, except for the editions with their own series, which the year pages call out.
MORE: PRODUCTION NUMBERS
| YEARS | LENGTH | PLATE LOCATION | WHAT THE POSITIONS GIVE | EXAMPLE | DECODER |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1953–1959 | 10 | Driver’s door post | Engine (E six, VE V-8), year, plant (F Flint 1953, S St. Louis), sequence from 001001 | E57S100001 | C1 Decoder |
| 1960–1964 | 12 | Steering column, under the hood | Year, model 08, body (67 convertible, 37 coupe), plant S, sequence from 100001 | 30837S100001 | C1 / C2 Decoders |
| 1965–1967 | 13 | Steering column, under the hood | 1 Chevrolet, 94 Corvette, body, year, plant, sequence | 194677S100001 | C2 Decoder |
| 1968–1980 | 13 | Left windshield pillar | As 1965 with an engine-class character from 1972 (K base, L LT-1, W 454…); the 1978 Pace Car’s 900001 series | 1Z37L2S500001 | C3 Decoder |
| 1981–2013 | 17 | Dash at the windshield base; door label | Maker, line, body, engine (8th), check digit, year (10th), plant (11th: S St. Louis 1981, 5 Bowling Green), sequence; Z in the 4th for the ZR-1 | 1G1YZ23J6L5800001 | C4 Decoder |
| 2014–present | 17 | Dash at the windshield base; door label | As above with the 5th character for model and gearbox (Stingray, Grand Sport, Z06, ZR1, E-Ray, ZR1X) and the 8th for the engine (7 LT1, 6 LT4, J LT5, Y LT2, … ) | 1G1YF2D77K5100001 | The year pages |
The Generation VIN Decoders & Special-Edition Sequences
The decoders that bring a whole generation’s formats together, and the pages that give the sequence numbers of the editions that had their own. This is where we go deeper than most websites.
C1 Corvette VIN Decoder — 1953–1962, the ten- and twelve-character formats
C2 Corvette VIN Decoder — 1963–1967, the twelve- and thirteen-character formats
C3 Corvette VIN Decoder — 1968–1982, the engine classes and the 1978 Pace Car series
C4 Corvette VIN Decoder — 1984–1996, the seventeen-character VIN and the ZR-1’s Z
1998 Pace Car VIN & Sequence — the 1,163 replicas
2004 Z06 Commemorative Edition Sequence — the 2,025 Z06s
2007 Ron Fellows Edition (Z33) Sequence — the 399 cars
2008 Wil Cooksey 427 Limited Edition Sequence — the 505 cars
2009 GT1 Championship Edition Sequence — the 125 cars
2009 Hertz ZHZ Sequence — the 375 convertibles
C1 Corvette VIN Numbers, 1953–1962
Ten characters through 1959 (E53F001001 to E59S109670) and twelve from 1960 (00867S100001), on the door post and then the steering column; the engine prefix is the only clue to what is under the hood, and the frame stamp, the engine pad from 1960 and the tank sticker do the verifying. Each year page gives the sequence range, the engine suffixes and the plant.
MORE: THE C1 HUB / C1 VIN DECODER / ALL C1 VIN PAGES
| YEAR | THE VIN PAGE | FORMAT | MORE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1953 | 1953 Corvette VIN Numbers | 10 characters; sequence 001–300 | Year page |
| 1954 | 1954 Corvette VIN Numbers | 10 characters | Year page |
| 1955 | 1955 Corvette VIN Numbers | 10 characters; sequence 001001–001700 | Year page |
| 1956 | 1956 Corvette VIN Numbers; VIN Numbers | 10 characters | Year page |
| 1957 | 1957 Corvette VIN Numbers | 10 characters | Year page |
| 1958 | 1958 Corvette VIN Numbers | 10 characters | Year page |
| 1959 | 1959 Corvette VIN Numbers | 10 characters; sequence 100001–109670 | Year page |
| 1960 | 1960 Corvette VIN Numbers | 12 characters; sequence 100001–110261 | Year page |
| 1961 | 1961 Corvette VIN Numbers | 12 characters; sequence 100001–110939 | Year page |
| 1962 | 1962 Corvette VIN Numbers | 12 characters; sequence 100001–114531 | Year page |
C1 Corvette VIN Numbers, 1953–1962: the pages
One page per model year. Click through for the full data, the sources and the notes on that year.
C2 Corvette VIN Numbers, 1963–1967
Twelve characters in 1963–64 (30837S for the coupe, 30867S for the convertible) and thirteen from 1965 (194375S100001), with the sequence shared by both bodies and matching the production count every year. The split-window VIN is the most forged number in the hobby; the year pages give the trim tag and engine codes that go with it.
MORE: THE C2 HUB / C2 VIN DECODER / ALL C2 VIN PAGES
| YEAR | THE VIN PAGE | FORMAT | MORE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1963 | 1963 Corvette VIN Numbers | 12 characters; sequence 100001–121513 | Year page |
| 1964 | 1964 Corvette VIN Numbers | 12 characters | Year page |
| 1965 | 1965 Corvette VIN Numbers | 13 characters; sequence 100001–123564 | Year page |
| 1966 | 1966 Corvette VIN Numbers | 13 characters; sequence 100001–127720 | Year page |
| 1967 | 1967 Corvette VIN Numbers | 13 characters; sequence 100001–122940 | Year page |
C2 Corvette VIN Numbers, 1963–1967: the pages
One page per model year. Click through for the full data, the sources and the notes on that year.
C3 Corvette VIN Numbers, 1968–1982
Thirteen characters on the windshield pillar through 1980, with an engine class in the fifth position from 1972; the 1973 sequence skips 4,000 numbers, the 1978 Pace Car has its own 900001 series, and the 1981 is the first seventeen-character Corvette and the only year with two plants in the VIN. The engine class is the first thing a fake LT-1 or 454 gets wrong.
MORE: THE C3 HUB / C3 VIN DECODER / ALL C3 VIN PAGES
| YEAR | THE VIN PAGE | FORMAT | MORE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1968 | 1968 Corvette VIN Numbers | 13 characters; sequence 400001–428566 | Year page |
| 1969 | 1969 Corvette VIN Numbers | 13 characters; sequence 700001–738762 | Year page |
| 1970 | 1970 Corvette VIN Numbers | 13 characters; sequence 400001–417316 | Year page |
| 1971 | 1971 Corvette VIN Numbers | 13 characters; sequence 100001–121801 | Year page |
| 1972 | 1972 Corvette VIN Numbers | 13 characters; sequence 500001–527004 | Year page |
| 1973 | 1973 Corvette VIN Numbers | 13 characters; sequence 400001–434464 | Year page |
| 1974 | 1974 Corvette VIN Numbers | 13 characters; sequence 400001–437502 | Year page |
| 1975 | 1975 Corvette VIN Numbers | 13 characters; sequence 400001–438465 | Year page |
| 1976 | 1976 Corvette VIN Numbers | 13 characters; sequence 400001–446558 | Year page |
| 1977 | 1977 Corvette VIN Numbers | 13 characters; sequence 400001–449213 | Year page |
| 1978 | 1978 Corvette VIN Numbers | 13 characters; sequence 400001–440274 | Year page |
| 1979 | 1979 Corvette VIN Numbers | 13 characters; sequence 400001–453807 | Year page |
| 1980 | 1980 Corvette VIN Numbers | 13 characters; sequence 400001–440614 | Year page |
| 1981 | 1981 Corvette VIN Numbers | 17 characters | Year page |
| 1982 | 1982 Corvette VIN Numbers | 17 characters; sequence 100001–125408 | Year page |
C3 Corvette VIN Numbers, 1968–1982: the pages
One page per model year. Click through for the full data, the sources and the notes on that year.
C4 Corvette VIN Numbers, 1984–1996
Seventeen characters, Bowling Green’s 5 in the eleventh position, the engine in the eighth (8 L83, 8 then J for the L98 and LT5, P for the LT1) and, for the ZR-1, a Z in the fourth position with its own sequence series. The year pages give the three configurations GM used across the thirteen years.
MORE: THE C4 HUB / C4 VIN DECODER / ALL C4 VIN PAGES
| YEAR | THE VIN PAGE | FORMAT | MORE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | 1984 Corvette VIN Numbers | 17 characters; sequence 100001–151547 | Year page |
| 1985 | 1985 Corvette VIN Numbers | 17 characters; sequence 100001–139729 | Year page |
| 1986 | 1986 Corvette VIN Numbers | 17 characters | Year page |
| 1987 | 1987 Corvette VIN Numbers | 17 characters; sequence 100001–130632 | Year page |
| 1988 | 1988 Corvette VIN Numbers | 17 characters; sequence 100001–122789 | Year page |
| 1989 | 1989 Corvette VIN Numbers | 17 characters; sequence 100001–126412 | Year page |
| 1990 | 1990 Corvette VIN Numbers | 17 characters; sequence 100001–120597 | Year page |
| 1991 | 1991 Corvette VIN Numbers | 17 characters; sequence 100001–118595 | Year page |
| 1992 | 1992 Corvette VIN Numbers | 17 characters; sequence 100001–119977 | Year page |
| 1993 | 1993 Corvette VIN Numbers | 17 characters; sequence 100001–121142 | Year page |
| 1994 | 1994 Corvette VIN Numbers | 17 characters; sequence 100001–122882 | Year page |
| 1995 | 1995 Corvette VIN Numbers | 17 characters; sequence 100001–120294 | Year page |
| 1996 | 1996 Corvette VIN Numbers | 17 characters; sequence 100001–120536 | Year page |
C4 Corvette VIN Numbers, 1984–1996: the pages
One page per model year. Click through for the full data, the sources and the notes on that year.
C5 Corvette VIN Numbers, 1997–2004
The fifth character gives the body (Y coupe or convertible, Z hardtop and Z06), the eighth the engine (G for the LS1, S for the LS6), the tenth the year (V 1997 to 4 2004). The 1998 Pace Car and the 2004 Commemorative Z06 have sequence pages of their own; the VIN plate sits at the base of the windshield and the theft-ID label on the door.
MORE: THE C5 HUB / 1998 PACE CAR SEQUENCE / 2004 COMMEMORATIVE SEQUENCE / ALL C5 VIN PAGES
| YEAR | THE VIN PAGE | FORMAT | MORE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 1997 Corvette VIN Numbers | 17 characters; sequence 100001–109707 | Year page |
| 1998 | 1998 Corvette VIN Numbers; Pace Car VIN & Sequence Number | 17 characters; sequence 100001–131069 | Year page |
| 1999 | 1999 Corvette VIN Numbers | 17 characters; sequence 100001–133283 | Year page |
| 2000 | 2000 Corvette VIN Numbers | 17 characters; sequence 100001–133682 | Year page |
| 2001 | 2001 Corvette VIN Numbers | 17 characters; sequence 100001–135627 | Year page |
| 2002 | 2002 Corvette VIN Numbers | 17 characters; sequence 100001–135763 | Year page |
| 2003 | 2003 Corvette VIN Numbers | 17 characters; sequence 100001–135469 | Year page |
| 2004 | 2004 Corvette VIN Numbers; Z06 Commemorative Edition - Sequence Number and VIN | 17 characters; sequence 100001–134064 | Year page |
C5 Corvette VIN Numbers, 1997–2004: the pages
One page per model year. Click through for the full data, the sources and the notes on that year.
C6 Corvette VIN Numbers, 2005–2013
The fifth character gives the body (Y base, Z Z06 and ZR1), the eighth the engine (U LS2, W LS3, E LS7, T LS9), and the 2009 ZR1 ran three sequence series. The Ron Fellows, Indy Pace Car, Wil Cooksey, Competition Sport, GT1 and Hertz editions each have a page giving their sequence numbers beside the VINs.
MORE: THE C6 HUB / RON FELLOWS SEQUENCE / GT1 SEQUENCE / HERTZ ZHZ SEQUENCE / ALL C6 VIN PAGES
C6 Corvette VIN Numbers, 2005–2013: the pages
One page per model year. Click through for the full data, the sources and the notes on that year.
C7 Corvette VIN Numbers, 2014–2019
The fifth character carries the model and gearbox in pairs (A/B Stingray 1LT manual/automatic through the Z06’s N–U, the Grand Sport’s V–1 and the ZR1’s 4/5), the eighth the engine (7 LT1, 6 LT4, J LT5), the tenth the year (E 2014 to K 2019). The year pages decode every pair.
MORE: THE C7 HUB / ALL C7 VIN PAGES
| YEAR | THE VIN PAGE | FORMAT | MORE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 2014 Corvette VIN Numbers | 17 characters | Year page |
| 2015 | 2015 Corvette VIN Numbers | 17 characters | Year page |
| 2016 | 2016 Corvette VIN Numbers | 17 characters | Year page |
| 2017 | 2017 Corvette VIN Numbers | 17 characters | Year page |
| 2018 | 2018 Corvette VIN Numbers | 17 characters | Year page |
| 2019 | 2019 Corvette VIN Numbers | 17 characters | Year page |
C7 Corvette VIN Numbers, 2014–2019: the pages
One page per model year. Click through for the full data, the sources and the notes on that year.
C8 Corvette VIN Numbers, 2020–Present
The same seventeen-character scheme with new engine codes (Y LT2, then the LT6, LT7 and the hybrids) and fifth-character pairs for Stingray, Z06, E-Ray, ZR1, ZR1X and Grand Sport. VIN pages exist for 2020–2023; the 2024-on formats are on the year pages until their VIN posts are written.
MORE: THE C8 HUB / ALL C8 VIN PAGES
| YEAR | THE VIN PAGE | FORMAT | MORE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 2020 Corvette VIN Numbers | 17 characters; sequence 100001–119456 | Year page |
| 2021 | 2021 Corvette VIN Numbers | 17 characters | Year page |
| 2022 | 2022 Corvette VIN Numbers | 17 characters | Year page |
| 2023 | 2023 Corvette VIN Numbers | 17 characters | Year page |
| 2024 | On the year page | 17 characters | Year page |
| 2025 | On the year page | 17 characters | Year page |
| 2026 | On the year page | 17 characters | Year page |
| 2027 | On the year page | 17 characters | Year page |
C8 Corvette VIN Numbers, 2020–Present: the pages
One page per model year. Click through for the full data, the sources and the notes on that year.
FAQs
How do I decode a Corvette VIN?
Place it by length first: ten characters is 1953–59, twelve is 1960–64, thirteen is 1965–80 and seventeen is 1981 on. Then read the positions for that era (the table above), and open the year page for the exact codes: on a 1963 the fifth to eighth characters give the body and the last six the sequence; on a 1990 the fourth character Z means ZR-1 and the eighth J the LT5; on a 2019 the fifth character gives Stingray, Grand Sport, Z06 or ZR1 and manual or automatic.
Where is the VIN on a Corvette?
1953–59: a plate on the driver’s door post. 1960–67: a plate on the steering column under the hood. 1968–82: the left windshield pillar, visible through the glass. 1984 on: the dashboard at the base of the windshield on the driver’s side, repeated on the door-jamb label. The number is also stamped on the frame on every C1–C3 (rear kick-up and front cross-member) and, as a partial, on the engine pad and transmission from 1960.
What does ‘matching numbers’ mean on a Corvette?
That the engine, and usually the transmission and rear axle, are the ones the car was built with. The engine pad in front of the passenger-side head carries the last digits of the VIN (from 1960), a date code that must precede the car’s build date, and a suffix code that must match the engine the car claims; the transmission carries a VIN stamp too. The tank sticker, build sheet or Protect-O-Plate confirms the options. A car with a correct-type replacement engine is ‘numbers-correct’, not matching.
How do I tell what engine a Corvette had from the VIN?
Before 1972 you can’t, beyond six or eight on the C1; the engine pad suffix does that. From 1972 the fifth character gives the engine class on the C3 (K base, L LT-1, W 454 and so on). From 1981 the eighth character is the engine: 8 L83, 8/J L98 and LT5, P LT1, G LS1, S LS6, U LS2, W LS3, E LS7, T LS9, 7 LT1 (Gen V), 6 LT4, J LT5 (2019), Y LT2, and the C8’s codes for the LT6, LT7 and the hybrids. Each year page lists its codes.
How do I find a Corvette’s build date or sequence?
The last digits of the VIN are the car’s sequence in that model year’s run, and the year page gives the range and the production total, so a 1967 numbered 100001 was the first 1967 and one numbered 122940 the last. The build date is on the trim tag (C2–C3), the build sheet or the window sticker, and the build-dates pages on the generation hubs convert a sequence to a month.
Is there a Corvette VIN decoder for every year?
Yes: the tables above link to a VIN page for every model year from 1953 to 2023, with the generation decoders for the C1 to C4 covering each early format in one place; the 2024 and later formats are on their year pages until their VIN posts are published. The special editions that had their own sequence series, the 1978 and 1998 Pace Cars, the 2004 Commemorative Z06 and the 2007–09 editions, have their own pages.
Why are 1963 and other early Corvette VINs faked?
Because the number is on a riveted plate that can be moved, and the price difference between a split-window coupe and a convertible, or an L88 and a 300-horsepower car, is in the hundreds of thousands. The protection is the rest of the car: the frame stamps, the engine pad and its date, the trim tag, the tank sticker and the NCRS and Bloomington judging records. The C2 decoder and the 1963 year page cover the tells.
What was the first Corvette with a 17-character VIN?
The 1981, the first year of the federal standard, and the only Corvette year with two plant codes in the VIN: S for St. Louis, which built 1981s until August 1, and 5 for Bowling Green, which started on June 1. Every Corvette since has carried the seventeen characters with a check digit in the ninth position.
