Working Document No.

: TYREgtr-04-03
VIN and TIN

Vehicle Identification Number

(VIN)

and

Tyre Identification Number

(TIN)
Vehicle Identification Number (VIN)
• The VIN is a nearly universally accepted 17 digit alphanumeric code (which
does not use the letters I, O or Q) that uniquely identifies a vehicle.
• It is based on the ISO Standards 3779 and 3780. The former describes the
composition of the VIN and the latter describes the codification system
which identifies the manufacturer, the World Manufacturer Identifier (WMI).
• The WMI is managed by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) based
in the US.
• The VIN is composed of 3 sections, which identify the manufacturer,
describe the vehicle characteristics, and uniquely identify the vehicle
sequence number.
– WMI = World Manufacturer Identifier (places 1 through 3)
– VDS = Vehicle Descriptor Section (places 4 through 9)
– VIS = Vehicle Identification Section (places 10 through 17)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
WMI VDS VIS
Manufacturer Vehicle Attributes Check Digit Model Plant Code Sequential Number
Identifier Year
Managed by SAE Managed by Calculated Code Managed by manufacturer
manufacturer value given in
ISO
3779

28 SEPTEMBER 2007 TYRE INDUSTRY GTR WORKING GROUP 2/5

Tyre Identification Number (TIN)
• The TIN is defined by the US NHTSA and is required on all tyres
sold in the US (cf. 49 CFR §574.5 and 574.6). It uses a 12 digit
alphanumeric code (excluding the letters G, I, O, Q, S and Z)
composed of the following elements:
– The factory code is a 2 character alphanumeric code unique to each
manufacturing facility. The codes are assigned and managed by
NHTSA.
– The size code (2 characters) is maintained by the manufacturer and
must allow the identification of the size of the tyre.
– The optional tyre type code (3 or 4 characters) is used to identify other
tyre characteristics and the brand of tyre. The records of the codes used
are kept by the manufacturer.
– The date code (4 digits) is a simple combination of the week number of
fabrication and the last 2 digits of the year of manufacture. The starting
day of the week is defined as Sunday. (For information, ISO standard
8061 specifies Monday as the first day of the week.)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Factory Code Tyre Size Code Tyre Type Code (Optional) Date Code
Managed by NHTSA Managed by manufacturer Managed by manufacturer No management required

28 SEPTEMBER 2007 TYRE INDUSTRY GTR WORKING GROUP 3/5

 Comparison of TIN and VIN
TIN
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Factory Code Tyre Size Code Tyre Type Code (Optional) Date Code
Managed by NHTSA Managed by manufacturer Managed by manufacturer No management required

Weekly production
Product lot identity
Manufacturer
description
identity
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
WMI VDS VIS
Manufacturer Vehicle Attributes Check Digit Model Plant Code Sequential Number
Identifier Year
Managed by SAE Managed by Calculated Code Managed by manufacturer
manufacturer value given in
ISO
3779
Individual product
identity
VIN

28 SEPTEMBER 2007 TYRE INDUSTRY GTR WORKING GROUP 4/5

 Conclusions / Questions
• The TIN is seen by the global tyre industry as a
satisfactory way of uniquely identifying its products
• The similarities with the VIN are reassuring
– The only major difference is that the TIN allows identification of a
specific product's weekly production lot, while the VIN allows
identification of an individual vehicle
• Who should manage the list of factory codes (currently
NHTSA, but could be WP.29, for example)?
• Should the TIN date code be aligned with ISO 8601?
• If a need for 3 digit factory codes exists, it should be
considered rapidly to allow time for adoption
– 2 digit codes may be depleted shortly
– Recycling old, no-longer-used codes can help (10 years after
factory shutdown, for example)

28 SEPTEMBER 2007 TYRE INDUSTRY GTR WORKING GROUP 5/5