Regex to Match a VIN (Vehicle Identification Number)

Regex to Match a VIN

Copy the pattern, paste vehicle identification numbers, and see which fit the 17-character format. Below: why I, O and Q are banned.

Regular expression

/ /

Test string

What this pattern matches

It matches a Vehicle Identification Number: exactly 17 characters drawn from digits and letters, excluding I, O and Q.

Part by part

\b — word boundaries so a 17-char run inside a longer token is not falsely matched.

[A-HJ-NPR-Z0-9] — the allowed VIN character set: A–H, J–N, P, R–Z, and digits. This skips I, O, Q.

{17} — exactly seventeen of them.

Beyond the format

The ISO standard adds a check-digit in position 9. Format matching does not verify that; a full validator computes the checksum.

Use it in your code

Python

import re
text = "1HGCM82633A004352, JH4KA9650MC000000, WVWZZZ1JZXW000001, SHORTVIN123"
pattern = r'''\b[A-HJ-NPR-Z0-9]{17}\b'''
for m in re.finditer(pattern, text):
    print(m.group())

JavaScript

const text = "1HGCM82633A004352, JH4KA9650MC000000, WVWZZZ1JZXW000001, SHORTVIN123";
const re = new RegExp(String.raw`\b[A-HJ-NPR-Z0-9]{17}\b`, "g");
console.log(text.match(re));

FAQ

Why exclude I, O and Q?

They are banned from VINs because they look like 1, 0 and 0, avoiding transcription errors.

Should I match lower-case VINs?

VINs are upper-case. Uppercase the input or add the (i) flag if you accept lower-case entry.

Does this validate the check digit?

No. It only checks length and allowed characters. Position-9 checksum validation requires arithmetic beyond regex.