Land Rover VIN · Factory options

Land Rover VIN decoder: the factory options by VIN

A Land Rover VIN identifies the maker, the type and the serial number. The trim, the options and the paint code are not in it — they are held by Land Rover against it, on the factory build sheet.

Land Rover build sheet by VIN or registration

The make, model, colour and year are shown free, before anything is charged.

The registration is enough. Prefer the VIN? It's on the V5C and at the base of the windscreen.

What you get

2022 Audi A4 40 TDI quattro

Paint

Daytona grey pearl effect

Also on the same sheet

Interior trim: Soul (black) (EI)
Gearbox: 7-speed automatic, quattro
Equipment codes: 182 items, by code and description

From a real build sheet. Most recent cars carry the paint code; for some older ones the manufacturer recorded only the colour name.

What can you find out from a Land Rover VIN?

It gives the manufacturer (SAL on most Land Rovers), a description of the vehicle in Land Rover's own coding and the serial number. Its real use is as a key: with it you can retrieve Land Rover's factory build sheet, which lists the factory option codes with their descriptions, the paint and the trim. None of that is inside the number itself.

Land Rover manufacturer codes

Code (characters 1 to 3)	What it identifies
SAL	Land Rover — the whole range, Range Rover and Discovery included

SAL is the only manufacturer code Land Rover uses, and it covers the whole range: in our own records every Range Rover, Evoque, Velar, Sport, Discovery, Discovery Sport, Defender and Freelander carries it. A Range Rover is a Land Rover — DVLA records it that way too — so a decoder that returns Land Rover for a Range Rover VIN has read it correctly.

Land Rover and Jaguar are one manufacturer, and their dealer network records both marques in the same system, which is why the service history for a Jaguar comes back in the same shape as one for a Land Rover.

For the car's age, use the date of first registration on the V5C rather than a year read out of the number.

What a Land Rover VIN cannot tell you

Not the trim, not the options, not the paint code, not the interior and nothing about the car's past. Those are not stored in the number. They are stored by Land Rover against the number, which is the distinction every VIN decoder glosses over.

That record is the factory build sheet. For a Land Rover it returns the paint name and usually its code, the trim, the gearbox and the factory option codes with their descriptions.

Paint: Daytona grey pearl effect (6Y)
Interior trim: Soul (black) (EI)
Gearbox: 7-speed automatic, quattro
Equipment codes: 182 items, by code and description

From a real build sheet for a 2022 Audi A4 40 TDI quattro. Most recent cars carry the paint code; on some older ones the manufacturer recorded only the colour name.

Where to look on the car first

Land Rover records the paint code on a data label rather than the option list, and on most cars that label is in a door frame or under the bonnet. The options are not on it.

If it is your own Land Rover, the InControl app and a Land Rover retailer can both look the original specification up from the VIN.

If the label has gone, the book is missing or the car is not yours yet, the build sheet is the way to the same information — which is the common case when you are looking at a car to buy.

The 17 characters, in three blocks

A VIN (vehicle identification number) is always 17 characters, letters and digits, with I, O and Q left out so they cannot be confused with 1 and 0. The layout follows the international standard, ISO 3779:

Characters	Name	What they carry
1 to 3	WMI	The manufacturer and the region it built the car in — the first character gives the part of the world
4 to 9	VDS	A description of the vehicle in each maker's own coding: model, body, sometimes the engine. Many makers use the ninth as a check digit
10 to 17	VIS	The car itself: depending on the maker, the model year and the plant, then the serial number

The first character is the region: S to Z for Europe, J to R for Asia, 1 to 5 for North America. With the second it gives the country — W for Germany, S for the United Kingdom, V for France and Spain, Z for Italy, J for Japan, KM or KN for South Korea.

Other makes

VIN and factory options by make: Audi · BMW · Mercedes-Benz · Volkswagen · Vauxhall · MINI · Jaguar.

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Is a Range Rover a Land Rover?

Yes, for every purpose here. Range Rover is a model line, not a manufacturer: DVLA records a Range Rover, an Evoque, a Velar and a Sport under Land Rover, and every one of them carries the SAL manufacturer code. Enter the registration or the VIN and the right car comes back either way.

Can I get a Land Rover build sheet free?

Not the full one. If the car is yours, the InControl app and a Land Rover retailer will both show its specification. There is no free public lookup that returns the factory option list from a Land Rover VIN.

Where is the VIN on a Land Rover?

On the V5C, at the base of the windscreen on the driver's side, in the driver's door frame and stamped into the body. They should all read the same.

What does the Land Rover build sheet show?

The factory paint name and, on most recent cars, its code; the interior trim; the gearbox; and the factory option codes with their descriptions. It does not separate standard equipment from options, and it carries no list prices — whether an item cost extra depends on the model and trim.

How much is it, and what if there is no record?

£3.99 per vehicle, no account and no subscription. The amount is authorised on your card and taken only once the manufacturer's record comes back. If there is nothing on file, the authorisation is released and you are not charged.

Can I check the service history with the VIN too?

Yes, and on a Land Rover that is usually the more useful answer. The service history is what Land Rover's own dealer network recorded against the VIN — dates, mileages, the work done and the workshop. £9.99, and nothing to pay if we find no records.

Get the Land Rover build sheet

Paint, trim, gearbox and every option code Land Rover built into the car. £3.99, and nothing to pay if there is no record.

Get the build sheet · £3.99