Ford VIN Decoder Australia

What each character on a Ford VIN means, and why a Falcon is different.

Fords in our data
589,039
Fords in our data
Characters that identify the model
5 or 10 characters
identify the model
Last updated
Sep 2026
last updated

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How to read a Ford VIN

Take a 2019 Ford Ranger. Its VIN starts MPBUM, and those five characters are the useful part. The rest is unique to one car, so it's painted out here.

Ranger (PX) · windscreen VIN tag

MPBUM PAINTED OUT 1234567891011121314151617 1 2 3 4 5 6
  1. Characters 1 to 3: Maker and country
  2. Characters 4 and 5: Model and generation
  3. Characters 6 to 8: Variant
  4. Character 9: Not a check digit on a Ford
  5. Character 10: Year on a Ranger, not a Falcon or Territory
  6. Characters 11 to 17: Unique to one car

Characters 1 to 5

Maker, country and model: MPBUM is a Thai-built PX Ranger. The Australian-built Falcon and Territory share their first 8 characters, so they need characters 1 to 10.

Characters 9 and 10

Character 9 is not a check digit: it passes on only 7.8% of Fords. Character 10 is the year on nearly every Ranger (99.7%). On a Falcon or Territory it is part of the model code, and on a Focus it is not the year either.

Characters 11 to 17

Unique to one car, so never shown here. They tell you nothing about the model.

A Ford build plate (illustration)

Character 10 is the year on a Ranger, not on a Falcon

US decoders read the 10th character as the model year. In September 2026 we checked 14,687 Fords against their build dates. On a Ranger it came within a year of the build year 99.7% of the time. On a Falcon it did 2.8% of the time. Either way, the build date is on the build plate, and in every Carify VIN check.

Ranger VIN patterns

Each pattern is the first five characters, which is all you need to identify a Ranger.

Pattern Generation Built Cars in our data
PJ 2007 to 2011 8,075
PK 2007 to 2011 8,304
PX 2012 to 2020 68,006
PX MkIII 2017 to 2021 78,068
PY 2022 on 12,957
PY 2022 on 32,531

Plus 16 less common patterns. Built: the middle 90% of build years, from 4,216 decoded cars. Updated Sep 2026.

Ranger (PX) · where to find the VIN
Line drawing of a Ford Ranger double-cab ute (PX), numbered where the VIN is
  1. The VIN tag on top of the dashboard, seen through the windscreen on the passenger side
    1  Base of the windscreenPassenger side. Read it from outside.
  2. The vehicle identification plate at the back of the engine bay on the passenger side, behind the fuse box and battery
    2  Under the bonnetA plate at the back of the engine bay, passenger side.
  3. The VIN stamped into the chassis rail under the driver's front door
    3  Chassis, under the front doorDriver's side, stamped into the chassis rail.

Locations from Ford's Australian owner's manual for the Ranger (PX MkII).

Other popular Fords

The Fords we see most after the Ranger, and the patterns that identify them (10 characters for a Falcon or Territory).

  • Falcon

    and 20 more

    • Wagon 1998 to 2010
    • Sedan 1999 to 2014
    • Ute 2000 to 2013

    From 4,294 decoded cars

  • Focus

    and 23 more

    • LT 2005 to 2008
    • LW 2011 to 2013
    • LW MkII 2012 to 2014
    • LZ 2015 to 2018

    From 1,589 decoded cars

  • Territory

    and 5 more

    • Wagon 2005 to 2015

    From 911 decoded cars

  • Everest

    and 1 more

    • UA II 2015 to 2022
    • UB 2022 on

    From 434 decoded cars

Other makes

About these numbers: generations and build years come from 14,687 Fords decoded from factory records, one per VIN. Build years show the middle 90% of each pattern, and patterns with fewer than 30 decoded cars are left out. Updated September 2026.