Ram VIN Decoder
Enter any 17-character Ram VIN. Free US-market Ram 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 Ram VIN
A Ram 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 Ram VIN broken down position by position.
112C364S5R6F7H8T9310M11N122133144155166177
| Position | Chars | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Country of origin 1 = United States. Ram 1500 pickups are built in Sterling Heights and Warren, Michigan. HD pickups (2500/3500) and the ProMaster van are built in Saltillo, Mexico (VIN starts with 3), and the ProMaster City was built in Turkey (Z prefix). |
| 2-3 | C6 | Manufacturer (WMI) C6 = the Stellantis Ram truck WMI (1C6 for US-built pickups). Other Ram WMIs include 3C6 (Mexico-built HD pickups and ProMaster) and ZFB (Fiat-based ProMaster City). Pre-2011 trucks used the Dodge WMIs (e.g. 1D7) because Ram was still part of Dodge then. |
| 4-8 | SRFHT | Vehicle Descriptor Section (VDS) Encodes the cab style, bed, GVWR class, restraint system, and engine. Stellantis does not publish a public VDS-to-trim table, so CheckMyVIN reports what NHTSA VPIC returns directly (Model, Series, Trim, Body Class, Engine) rather than guessing what individual characters mean. |
| 9 | 3 | 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 returns an error and CheckMyVIN treats the VIN as unreadable. |
| 10 | M | Model year M = 2021. The full year code table is below. The 30-year cycle skips I, O, Q, U, Z and 0 to avoid being confused with similar-looking digits. |
| 11 | N | Assembly plant For this VIN, N maps to Sterling Heights Assembly (Michigan), home of the current Ram 1500 (DT). CheckMyVIN reads Plant City and Plant Country directly from the VPIC record rather than inferring the plant from this character — position 11 is brand-internal. |
| 12-17 | 234567 | Production sequence A 6-digit serial number that increments through the model year at that plant. Not useful on its own, but combined with 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 |
Ram WMI codes (positions 1–3)
The first three characters of the VIN identify the manufacturer and country of assembly. Ram uses several WMI codes depending on plant and model line.
| WMI | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 1C6 | Ram pickup (1500, 2500, 3500) — USA (Sterling Heights / Warren, MI) |
| 3C6 | Ram HD pickup & ProMaster van — Mexico (Saltillo) |
| ZFB | Ram ProMaster City (Fiat-based) — Turkey |
| 1D7 | Legacy Ram pickup branded "Dodge Ram" (pre-2011) — USA |
Ram build sheet & options
A full Ram build sheet — the original factory options, paint code, rear-axle ratio, package contents (e.g. the Off-Road or Limited group), and dealer-installed extras — is not part of the federal NHTSA VPIC dataset. CheckMyVIN can confirm engine family (HEMI, EcoDiesel, Cummins), assembly plant, model year, cab/body class, and recall history pulled live from NHTSA, but it cannot return the original option list or the exact axle ratio that determines towing capacity. For those, the driver-door payload sticker and the build sheet are the fastest sources, and a Ram dealer can print the build sheet from the VIN; Stellantis maintains that data through the Mopar service portal — Mopar is Stellantis's service and parts brand for Ram, Jeep, Dodge, and Chrysler, not a separate vehicle make. CheckMyVIN never claims options data it cannot verify against the NHTSA record.
Ram VIN decoder FAQ
Is the Ram VIN decoder free?
Yes — every Ram VIN lookup on CheckMyVIN is free, with no signup, no email gate, and no usage cap on 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. Whether you search "Ram VIN decoder", "Ram truck VIN lookup", or "Dodge Ram VIN decoder", this is the same free tool.
How do I read a Ram VIN (1500, 2500, 3500)?
A Ram VIN is 17 characters: position 1 is the country (1 = USA for the 1500, 3 = Mexico for HD trucks and the ProMaster), positions 2-3 are the Ram WMI (1C6 US pickup, 3C6 Mexico HD/ProMaster, ZFB ProMaster City), position 10 is the model year (M = 2021, see the year table on this page), and position 11 is the assembly plant. Enter the VIN above and CheckMyVIN reads every field via the official NHTSA database — it covers the Ram lineup including 1500, 2500, 3500, ProMaster, ProMaster City, and the pre-2011 Dodge Ram.
Where is the VIN located on a Ram?
Three places on every modern Ram: the dash plate at the base of the windshield (visible from outside, driver side), the driver-door jamb certification sticker, and on the title / registration. Ram pickups ALSO have the VIN stamped on the frame rail — useful when the dash plate on an older truck is damaged or missing.
How do I find my Ram engine from the VIN (HEMI, Cummins)?
The engine appears in the VPIC fields CheckMyVIN reads — displacement, cylinder count, and configuration. Common Ram engines include the 3.6L Pentastar V6, the 5.7L and 6.4L HEMI V8s, the 3.0L EcoDiesel V6, and the 6.7L Cummins turbo-diesel inline-six in the 2500/3500. Enter the VIN above and read the Vehicle Specifications block. The VIN identifies the engine family; the build sheet holds the rest of the configuration.
Can I find my Ram's towing capacity or axle gear ratio by VIN?
Not as a single number from the VIN alone. Maximum towing and payload depend on the exact build — most importantly the rear-axle ratio (e.g. 3.21, 3.92), which is a factory option not spelled out in the 17 VIN characters. The authoritative sources are the payload sticker on the driver-door jamb, the build sheet, and Ram's towing guide for that specific model/engine/axle combination. CheckMyVIN reports the engine, cab, and body the VIN does encode; for the exact axle ratio, check the build sheet or the axle tag.
Can I get the Ram window sticker or build sheet by VIN?
The original window sticker (Monroney label) and full build sheet are not in the NHTSA VPIC data, so CheckMyVIN does not reproduce them. What the VIN does give you — engine, plant, model year, cab/body class, drive type, and open recalls — appears free in the report above. For the original Monroney, the option list, or the axle ratio, a Ram dealer can print the build sheet from the VIN, and Stellantis maintains that data through the Mopar service portal.
Can I check Ram recalls with the VIN?
Yes. CheckMyVIN automatically queries the NHTSA recall API alongside the decode and shows every open campaign for the year/model/make combination. Worked examples — including a 2019 Ram 1500 adjustable-brake-pedal campaign and a 2019-2020 Ram 2500/3500 transmission-fluid-leak campaign — appear on the /ram/recall page with the official NHTSA campaign numbers and links to the NHTSA recall portal so you can verify.
Is a Ram a "Dodge" or a "Mopar" vehicle?
Through 2010 these trucks were "Dodge Ram"; since 2010 the make is Ram, its own Stellantis marque (a 2011+ VIN decodes to "RAM," a pre-2011 one to "Dodge"). And Mopar is not the make either — Mopar is Stellantis's service, parts, and accessories brand for Ram, Jeep, Dodge, and Chrysler. A Ram dealer uses the Mopar system to pull build and parts data from the VIN, but the VIN decodes to the Ram (or legacy Dodge) marque, which is what CheckMyVIN reports.
Can you decode an old Dodge Ram VIN (pre-1981)?
Only partially. Federal law standardized VINs at 17 characters in 1981; classic Dodge trucks — the D/W-series pickups and Power Wagon that preceded the modern Ram — used shorter VINs with a different structure (no standardized check digit, no global WMI registry), and NHTSA's VPIC database has limited coverage of them. CheckMyVIN will not invent fields it cannot verify. For a classic Dodge truck, the door/firewall data tag and marque registries (and clubs) are the authoritative decode sources. Be skeptical of any tool that claims to fully "decode" a pre-1981 Dodge truck VIN.