How to Check and Decode Your Porsche’s VIN
Your 17-digit VIN contains important information about your vehicle, and you can find it on the driver’s side dashboard or door jamb.
Written by Jacqulyn Graber
Reviewed by Kathleen Flear
Your Porsche’s 17-digit VIN will be located in one of two places: on the front of your driver’s side dashboard (visible through the windshield) or on the driver’s side door jamb. Decoding this number will tell you quite a bit of information about your car, from the manufacturer to the year of production to the exact plant in which it was assembled.
Your car insurer, the DMV, or your dealership’s warranty department may have asked for your vehicle identification number, or VIN, at one point or another. And despite what you may have thought, the VIN is not just a random string of numbers and letters. So, what does it mean?
If you need help making sense of your Porsche’s VIN, read on!
Jerry
—the trusted car insurance
comparison app—has created this easy-to-use guide. Jerry sends free alerts to keep your car up-to-date so you can avoid costly repairs
* checking your rate won’t affect your credit score
Get ahead of my car maintenance
* checking your rate won’t affect your credit score
How to check your Porsche’s VIN
You can find your Porsche’s VIN in one of two places: on the driver’s side dashboard where it meets the windshield or on the driver’s side door jamb.
If you don’t want to head out to your garage to check your VIN, it will also be notated on your insurance cards, as well as on any DMV-issued registration cards.
How to decode a Porsche VIN
Although VINs have been in use since the 1950s, they were only standardized by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in 1981. This means that all VIN numbers on cars manufactured after 1981 have a standard set of meanings, regardless of their make, model, or the continent they’re from.
VINS can contain a combination of any numerical digits (0-9) and any letters of the English alphabet except for I, O, and Q (because they’re too easily confused with 1, 0, and 9).
Keep in mind that if your Porsche was manufactured prior to 1981, it may still have a VIN number. However, it is likely to contain fewer than 17 digits and will have a unique meaning, separate from what’s described below.
Positions 1-3: world manufacturer identifier
Combined, the first three positions of your Porsche’s VIN make up the world manufacturer identifier (WMI). The WMI contains three pieces of information: your vehicle’s country of origin, make, and type.
Since all Porsches are manufactured in Germany, the first position will always be W. Similarly, the second position will always be P, since Porsche is not owned by any other parent company. The third position will be 0 for all passenger cars or 1 for SUVs (which applies to the Cayenne and Macan).
Positions 4-6, 9: filler
Because Porsche produces relatively few vehicle types and has limited manufacturing sites, these four positions aren’t really needed. The letter Z will always be used as filler, and simply denotes that the car is European.
Positions 7,8, and 12: model number
Interestingly, positions 7, 8, and 12 on a Porsche’s VIN are meant to be read together. These three numbers will denote the car’s exact model.
MORE:
Porsche paint codes
Position 10: model year
Position 10 is standardized across all makes and models and denotes the year your Porsche was manufactured.
Here are the codes used for the last 20 years:
Code | Year |
|---|---|
1 | 2001 |
2 | 2002 |
3 | 2003 |
4 | 2004 |
5 | 2005 |
6 | 2006 |
7 | 2007 |
8 | 2008 |
9 | 2009 |
A | 2010 |
B | 1981 or 2011 |
C | 1982 or 2012 |
D | 1983 or 2013 |
E | 1984 or 2014 |
F | 1985 or 2015 |
G | 1986 or 2016 |
H | 1987 or 2017 |
J | 1988 or 2018 |
K | 1989 or 2019 |
L | 1990 or 2020 |
M | 1991 or 2021 |
Position 11: factory code
Porsche has a few factories across Germany, and the letter in position 11 will denote an exact town. Here’s what each letter means:
Code | Factory |
|---|---|
S | Stuttgart |
N | Neckarsulm Audi Factory |
U | Uusikaupunki Valmet Factory |
L | Leipzig |
K | Osnabruck VW Factory |
D | Bratislava VW Factory |
Positions 12-17: vehicle serial number
The last six digits of your Porsche’s VIN represent a unique serial number. Since this is not standardized, Porsche is allowed to determine exactly how they generate their serial numbers.
How to find affordable Porsche insurance
You won’t need to be able to decode your VIN number to save on car insurance. In fact, thanks to No. 1
car insurance
comparison app Jerry
, you won’t need to do much thinking at all! Download the Jerry app, answer a few short questions, and sit back. After providing you with a comprehensive cross-analysis of the best policies across providers, Jerry will handle the phone calls, paperwork, and renewals for your top pick so that you don’t have to.
They can even help cancel your old policy! And the average user saves $887 a year on car insurance. So why do all that extra work when Jerry can do it better?
“I thought my previous insurance rate was the best I could get since I have a luxury SUV. AfterJerryfound me quotes, I ended up paying only $80 a month for the same exact coverage. I’ll be shopping for auto insurance through Jerry from now on!” —Petra S.
RECOMMENDED
Thousands of customers saved on average $887/year on their car insurance with Jerry
This app is great, but the customer service is even better! Not to mention convenient! My husband and I got the lowest rate (much lower than the rates I was finding online through my own searches), quickly, and pretty much all through text message! Thank you so much for a hassle free experience👍
Gabriella R.
Find insurance savings
4.7/5 Rating on App Store
Estimate your repair costs for free with GarageGuard™
Simplify your car maintenance with Jerry.
4.7
We value your privacy
