Enter the 17-character VIN of your Alfa Romeo to see the factory basics. Free, with no registration.
Look on the dashboard, the driver's door frame or in the registration document.
Type all 17 characters. The letters I, O and Q are never used in a VIN.
See the factory basics for free, and order a full report for the history behind the VIN.
Enter a 17-character VIN and the Alfa Romeo decoder tells you the manufacturer, the model year and the country of manufacture. Our Alfa Romeo data lists 33 models, from the 145, 156 and Giulia to the 4C, Stelvio and Tonale, with version data from 1963 to the present.
The decoder reads only the VIN itself, so it shows nothing about an individual car's past, such as accidents, mileage, theft or previous owners. That information comes from a paid vehicle history report, while the decoder stays free and needs no registration.
The first three characters are the World Manufacturer Identifier, or WMI. The code we map to Alfa Romeo is ZAR, and it belongs to Italy. A VIN that begins with ZAR therefore points to Alfa Romeo and to Italian production. Our list of codes is not complete, so it only covers the ones we recognise for the brand.
Characters 4 to 8 describe the vehicle, and character 9 is a check digit. North American VINs must have a valid one, while many European VINs fill that position differently. Character 10 gives the model year, and character 11 usually marks the plant. Characters 12 to 17 are the serial number. The letters I, O and Q are never used, so they cannot appear anywhere in a genuine 17-character VIN.
The model year letter is easy to check. A J in position 10 means 2018, an L means 2020 and an R means 2024. The letters repeat after thirty years, so a B can mean 1981 or 2011. The rest of the VIN and the car itself help you tell them apart. The 17-character format applies to cars built since 1981, so some of the older Alfa Romeo models in our data, such as the Alfasud or the Montreal, may have shorter chassis numbers that this decoder cannot read.
Every VIN has six parts. This is what each of them means.
| Part | Characters | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| WMI | 1 to 3 | World manufacturer identifier: who built the vehicle and where |
| VDS | 4 to 8 | Vehicle descriptor: model, body type and engine, as set by the manufacturer |
| Check digit | 9 | Control value that helps confirm the VIN is valid |
| Model year | 10 | Code for the model year |
| Plant | 11 | Code for the assembly plant |
| Serial | 12 to 17 | Production sequence number of this vehicle |
On the driver's side, visible through the windshield.
On a sticker on the door frame or the edge of the door.
Printed in the vehicle registration or title.
Stamped on the firewall or the frame on many models.
A VIN is built from six parts, and each one says something about the vehicle. Our guides explain how to read it and what it can and cannot tell you.
Enter the 17-character VIN and see the factory basics in seconds.
Look at the vehicle registration document first, then check the car itself. The number is usually visible at the base of the windshield or on the door pillar. Compare the two, because they should match exactly.
ZAR is the WMI code we map to Alfa Romeo, and it belongs to Italy. It tells you the manufacturer and the country of manufacture. It does not say which model or body style the car is.
Read the 10th character. For example, K stands for 2019, M for 2021 and S for 2025. Letters repeat every thirty years, so check the result against the car and its papers.
It cannot show accidents, mileage, theft records or the number of owners, because none of that is stored in the VIN. It also cannot confirm the exact equipment of one particular car. The decoder reports only what the 17 characters contain.
Make sure the VIN on the car, in the registration document and in any service records is the same. Decode it to confirm that the manufacturer, country and model year fit what the seller says. Then inspect the car in person, ideally with a mechanic.