Lincoln VIN Decoder
Enter any 17-character Lincoln VIN. Free US-market Lincoln VIN decoder backed by the official NHTSA VPIC database — engine code, assembly plant, model year, body class, and every open recall, in about 30 seconds.
How to read a Lincoln VIN
A Lincoln VIN, like any modern road-vehicle VIN, is 17 characters split into three blocks: the World Manufacturer Identifier (WMI) in positions 1–3, the Vehicle Descriptor Section (VDS) in positions 4–9, and the Vehicle Identifier Section (VIS) in positions 10–17. Here's a real Lincoln VIN broken down position by position.
152L3M4J5J627L8T9910K11E120130140150160171
| Position | Chars | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Country of origin 5 = United States. Lincoln SUVs use 5LM (Navigator at the Kentucky Truck Plant, Aviator in Chicago, Corsair in Louisville). Lincoln cars use 1LN (USA) or 3LN (Mexico — MKZ / Continental at Hermosillo), and the Nautilus has used 2LM (Canada — Oakville). CheckMyVIN reports the actual Plant Country from VPIC rather than inferring it from this digit. |
| 2-3 | LM | Manufacturer (WMI) LM = Lincoln SUV (Ford Motor Company) within the 5LM World Manufacturer Identifier. Other major Lincoln WMIs: 1LN / 3LN (Lincoln cars, US / Mexico) and 2LM (Lincoln SUV, Canada). All decode as Make = LINCOLN. The model line is encoded in positions 4-8, not at the WMI level. |
| 4-8 | JJ2LT | Vehicle Descriptor Section (VDS) Encodes the model line, body style, restraint system, and engine/drivetrain. Ford does not publish a public VDS-to-trim table, so CheckMyVIN does not guess that "JJ2LT" means a specific trim — instead it reports the Model, Trim, and Engine that NHTSA VPIC returns directly (for this VIN: Navigator, Reserve, 3.5L EcoBoost V6). |
| 9 | 9 | Check digit A mod-11 checksum computed from the other 16 positions. NHTSA uses it to reject typos before returning a decode — if the check digit is wrong, VPIC flags an error and CheckMyVIN treats the entry as an unreadable VIN. |
| 10 | K | Model year K = 2019. The full year-code table is below. The 30-year ISO cycle skips I, O, Q, U, Z and 0 to avoid confusion with similar-looking characters. |
| 11 | E | Assembly plant For this VIN the plant character maps to the Kentucky Truck Plant in Louisville (Jefferson County), Kentucky — where the Navigator is built alongside the Ford Expedition and Super Duty. CheckMyVIN reads Plant City and Plant Country straight from the VPIC record rather than inferring from position 11; other Lincoln plants include Chicago, Illinois (Aviator), Louisville, Kentucky (Corsair), Oakville, Canada (Nautilus), and Hermosillo, Mexico (MKZ). |
| 12-17 | 000001 | Production sequence A 6-digit serial number that increments through the model year at that plant. Not meaningful on its own, but together with the year and plant it confirms the VIN is internally consistent. |
VIN year codes (position 10)
The 10th character of every modern VIN encodes the model year. The cycle skips the letters I, O, Q, U and Z, and the digit 0, to avoid being confused with similar digits. This table covers every model year currently on US roads.
| Code | Year | Code | Year | Code | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 2010 | H | 2017 | R | 2024 |
| B | 2011 | J | 2018 | S | 2025 |
| C | 2012 | K | 2019 | T | 2026 |
| D | 2013 | L | 2020 | V | 2027 |
| E | 2014 | M | 2021 | W | 2028 |
| F | 2015 | N | 2022 | X | 2029 |
| G | 2016 | P | 2023 | Y | 2030 |
Lincoln WMI codes (positions 1–3)
The first three characters of the VIN identify the manufacturer and country of assembly. Lincoln uses several WMI codes depending on plant and model line.
| WMI | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 5LM | Lincoln SUV — USA (Navigator, Aviator, Corsair) |
| 3LN | Lincoln car — Mexico (MKZ, Continental; 1LN is the US-built car code) |
| 2LM | Lincoln SUV — Canada (Nautilus / MKX, Oakville) |
Lincoln build sheet & options
A full Lincoln build sheet — original Monroney options, paint code, interior theme (e.g. the Black Label themes), the Revel audio package, technology and driver-assist bundles, and dealer-installed accessories — is not part of the federal NHTSA VPIC dataset. CheckMyVIN can confirm the model, trim (Standard / Reserve / Black Label / Grand Touring), engine family (3.5L EcoBoost V6, 3.0L twin-turbo V6, 2.0L / 2.3L / 2.7L EcoBoost, or the Aviator PHEV drivetrain), drive type, assembly plant, model year, body class, and recall history pulled live from NHTSA. For the original window sticker your authoritative source is a Lincoln dealer, who can pull the build from the VIN through Ford's dealer system, or Ford's window-sticker lookup by VIN. CheckMyVIN never claims options data it cannot verify against the NHTSA record.
Lincoln VIN decoder FAQ
Is the Lincoln VIN decoder free?
Yes — every Lincoln VIN lookup on CheckMyVIN is free, with no signup, no email gate, and no usage cap for individual users. Data comes from the public NHTSA VPIC API. The optional "full vehicle history report" link at the bottom of each report is an affiliate to a paid third-party history service; you can ignore it.
How do I read a Lincoln VIN (Navigator, Aviator, Nautilus, Corsair)?
A Lincoln VIN is 17 characters: position 1 is the country (5 / 1 = USA, 3 = Mexico, 2 = Canada), positions 2-3 are the WMI (LM = Lincoln SUV, LN = Lincoln car), positions 4-8 are the model/engine descriptor, position 9 is the check digit, position 10 is the model year (K = 2019 in the worked example above), and position 11 is the plant. Enter any 17-character Lincoln VIN above and CheckMyVIN reads every field via the official NHTSA database — that is the same thing as a Lincoln VIN number decoder, VIN lookup, or VIN check.
Where is the VIN located on a Lincoln?
Three places on a modern Lincoln: the dash plate at the base of the windshield (read it from outside, driver side), the driver door-jamb certification sticker, and the title / registration. The Lincoln Way app also shows the VIN under vehicle details. The 17-character VIN is the legal identifier.
I'm buying or importing a US Lincoln Navigator/Aviator from overseas — how do I verify it?
Enter the 17-character VIN above. The Navigator and Aviator are common US exports (the Middle East / Gulf among the biggest markets), and a US-titled Lincoln decodes through NHTSA VPIC from anywhere in the world. CheckMyVIN confirms the model, model year, trim, engine, body class, and US assembly plant straight from the official NHTSA record, and checks for any open US recall — exactly what an overseas buyer needs to confirm a car is what the seller claims before importing.
What does the 10th character of a Lincoln VIN mean?
The 10th character is the model-year code, following the ISO 3779 cycle every manufacturer uses: A = 2010, B = 2011, … K = 2019 (the worked example above), … Y = 2030. The cycle skips the letters I, O, Q, U, Z and the digit 0 to avoid confusion with similar-looking characters. It tells you the model year, not the build date.
How do I find my Lincoln engine and paint code from the VIN?
The engine family is reported by VPIC — CheckMyVIN shows the engine model NHTSA returns (3.5L EcoBoost V6, 3.0L twin-turbo V6, 2.0L / 2.3L / 2.7L EcoBoost, or the Aviator PHEV). The paint code is NOT in the VIN: it is on the driver door-jamb sticker (a Ford paint code such as "UM" for a given black), and Ford's window-sticker-by-VIN lookup or a Lincoln dealer can match it. CheckMyVIN never guesses an engine or paint code the VIN does not encode.
Can I check Lincoln recalls with the VIN?
Yes. Every CheckMyVIN report runs the VIN against the live NHTSA recall API and lists any open campaign for that model and year (Ford files Lincoln campaigns under Ford Motor Company). You can also browse worked Lincoln examples on the /lincoln/recall page — the Navigator rear-suspension toe-link and instrument-cluster campaigns are ones to confirm — then run your own VIN.