18 prefixes

BMW VIN decoder

Put a BMW VIN in and get the full NHTSA specification plus any open recalls. Below, every manufacturer prefix a BMW can start with.

Where a BMW VIN starts

The first three characters are the World Manufacturer Identifier. BMW vehicles carry 18 of them, spread across 2 countries of manufacture, because the same model can be built on more than one continent. The prefix tells you which plant lineage built the car before you decode anything else.

Prefix	Manufacturer of record	Vehicle type	Country
3MF	BMW AG	Passenger Car	GERMANY
3MW	BMW AG	Passenger Car	GERMANY
4US	BMW MANUFACTURER CORPORATION / BMW NORTH AMERICA	Passenger Car	UNITED STATES (USA)
5UM	BMW AG	Passenger Car	GERMANY
5UX	BMW MANUFACTURER CORPORATION / BMW NORTH AMERICA	Multipurpose Passenger Vehicle (MPV)	UNITED STATES (USA)
5YM	BMW MANUFACTURER CORPORATION / BMW NORTH AMERICA	Multipurpose Passenger Vehicle (MPV)	UNITED STATES (USA)
WAP	BMW OF NORTH AMERICA, LLC	Passenger Car	GERMANY
WB1	BMW AG MOTORCYCLES	Motorcycle	GERMANY
WB3	BMW AG MOTORCYCLES	Motorcycle	GERMANY
WB4	BMW AG MOTORCYCLES	Motorcycle	GERMANY
WB5	BMW AG	Multipurpose Passenger Vehicle (MPV)	GERMANY
WBA	BMW AG	Passenger Car	GERMANY
WBS	BMW M GMBH	Passenger Car	GERMANY
WBX	BMW AG	Multipurpose Passenger Vehicle (MPV)	GERMANY
WBY	BMW AG	Passenger Car	GERMANY
WMW	BMW AG	Passenger Car	GERMANY
WMZ	BMW AG	Multipurpose Passenger Vehicle (MPV)	GERMANY
WZ1	BMW AG	Passenger Car	GERMANY

What BMW stamps them on

Passenger Car10
Multipurpose Passenger Vehicle (MPV)5
Motorcycle3

Current BMW models

Models NHTSA lists for the most recent complete model year.

228i
230i
330i
430i
530i
540i
550e
740i
750e
760i
840i
Alpina B8
C 400 GT
CE 02
CE 04
F 800 GS
F 900 GS
F 900 GS Adventure
F 900 GS-P
F 900 R
F 900 XR
G 310 GS
G 310 R
K 1600 B
K 1600 GT
K 1600 GTL
M 1000 R
M 1000 XR
M2
M235
M240i
M3
M340i
M4
M440i
M5
M8
M850i
R 12
R 12 nineT

Other makes

All 45 makes · VIN anatomy

Prefix table from NHTSA vPIC, built 2026-08-09. 888 prefixes across the site.