Ford VIN structure
Ford VINs begin with 1F for US-built cars and trucks (1FA passenger, 1FT truck, 1FM SUV), 2F for Canada, 3F for Mexico, WF0 for Ford of Germany, and 6FP for Ford Australia. Where the car was assembled decides which archives can decode it.
WMI — the first three characters
| WMI | Manufacturer / region |
|---|---|
| 1FA | Ford USA (passenger car) |
| 1FT | Ford USA (truck) |
| 1FM | Ford USA (SUV/MPV) |
| 2F | Ford Canada |
| 3F | Ford Mexico |
| WF0 | Ford of Germany |
| 6FP | Ford Australia |
Major assembly plants
| Plant | Models built |
|---|---|
| Dearborn, MI (USA) | F-150, EV |
| Kansas City, MO (USA) | F-150, Transit |
| Louisville, KY (USA) | Super Duty, Expedition |
| Chicago, IL (USA) | Explorer, Aviator |
| Oakville, ON (Canada) | Edge (retired line-up) |
| Saarlouis (Germany) | Focus |
| Valencia (Spain) | Mondeo/Kuga |
Model year — the 10th character
10th digit = model year. Ford switched to the 17-digit VIN for the 1981 model year; classic F-100/F-250 trucks from 1969–1980 use 11–13 digit VINs with year in a different position — use the 13-digit guide. See the full VIN year chart.
Options and packages
Ford packages and option groups are not encoded in the VIN. The window sticker (Monroney label) is the final arbiter of what a truck actually left the factory with — decoders regularly disagree on axle and tow packages, so sticker beats decoder.
Build sheet channels for Ford
| Channel | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Ford Etis (official EU system) | Free (EU VINs) | Authoritative for EU-market Fords; may misreport AU-market cars |
| Ford window sticker reproduction | ~$10 per label | Monroneylabels.com and similar reproduce the original sticker by VIN |
| Ford dealer | Free–varies | US dealers can pull the original window sticker by VIN |
Full comparison across all brands: build sheet channels & prices.
Known decode traps
- 13-digit Ford VINs (pre-1981) do not contain package codes at all — no tool can decode options from them.
- Mexico-built Fords routinely fail to resolve in US decode databases; the VIN is valid, the coverage is not.
- Medium-duty trucks (F-500 and up) are systematically missing from consumer decode databases.
- Heavy-duty specs (axle, GVWR, tow rating) live on the door jamb sticker and window sticker, not reliably in VIN databases.
Recalls and this brand
Ford runs many emissions-related service campaigns. Those campaigns are EPA matters and do NOT show up in NHTSA VIN recall lookups — a clean recall lookup does not mean no open campaigns.