Kenworth VIN decoder,
from the NHTSA record.

Paste a Kenworth truck VIN to decode it against NHTSA vPIC, the federal filing the manufacturer made. Below the tool: the 8 WMI codes verified for Kenworth, a real Kenworth VIN read position by position, the GVWR classes its manufacturer registered, and 3 worked decodes of Kenworth units from FMCSA roadside inspections. Record fetched 2026-09-27.

VIN17 characters · no I, O, Q
Live from NHTSA vPIC (vpic.nhtsa.dot.gov)
Positions 1 to 3

Kenworth WMI codes

A World Manufacturer Identifier is the first three characters of the VIN. NHTSA assigns each one to a manufacturer, and vPIC records the vehicle type and country it was issued for. The 8 codes below are the ones verified for Kenworth in vPIC: 1XK, 1NK, 3WK, 2NK, 3BK, SBV, 2XK and SFN. The list is built from the manufacturers the VINs sampled for this page decode to, and NHTSA can have issued Kenworth other codes for other plants and vehicle types. 6 of them appeared in the 149 Kenworth VINs sampled from FMCSA roadside inspection records for this page; the rest are registered with NHTSA but did not show up in that sample.

WMIVehicle typeCountryRegistered toMakes filedIn sample
1XKTruckUnited StatesKENWORTH TRUCK COMPANYKENWORTH84 VINs
1NKIncomplete VehicleUnited StatesKENWORTH TRUCK COMPANYKENWORTH26 VINs
3WKTruckMexicoKENWORTH TRUCK COMPANYKENWORTH21 VINs
2NKIncomplete VehicleCanadaKENWORTH TRUCK COMPANYKENWORTH14 VINs
3BKIncomplete VehicleMexicoKENWORTH TRUCK COMPANYKENWORTH3 VINs
SBVIncomplete VehicleUnited Kingdom (uk)PACCAR INC.PETERBILT, KENWORTH1 VIN
2XKTruckCanadaKENWORTH TRUCK COMPANYKENWORTHregistered, not seen
SFNTruckUnited Kingdom (uk)KENWORTH TRUCK COMPANYKENWORTHregistered, not seen

PACCAR INC. also files PETERBILT with NHTSA, in some cases under the codes above (see the Peterbilt page). Where a code is filed for more than one make, the makes-filed column says so. A VIN that starts with a code not in this table can still be a Kenworth: decode it to check.

Positions 1 to 17

How to read a Kenworth VIN

2NK4HJ7X7PM264606 is a Kenworth truck recorded in a roadside inspection and decoded clean by vPIC. Reading it left to right:

2NK
WMI · 1 to 3
4HJ7X
Descriptor · 4 to 8
7
Check · 9
P
Year · 10
M
Plant · 11
264606
Serial · 12 to 17
  • Positions 1 to 3, 2NK. The WMI. vPIC resolves it to KENWORTH TRUCK COMPANY, filed for incomplete vehicles and assigned to Canada.
  • Positions 4 to 8, 4HJ7X. The vehicle descriptor, whose meaning Kenworth's manufacturer defines in its filing. For this VIN vPIC read model T600, series Export, body class Truck, GVWR Class 7: 26,001 - 33,000 lb (11,794 - 14,969 kg) and engine 4L-53 from these five characters.
  • Position 9, 7. The check digit, computed from the other sixteen characters. vPIC reports this VIN with error code 0, so the digit calculates correctly and the VIN was read right.
  • Position 10, P. The model year code. vPIC decodes it as 1993. vPIC flags the code as ambiguous for this filing (year codes repeat every 30 years), so confirm against the certification label.
  • Position 11, M. The assembly plant. vPIC names Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
  • Positions 12 to 17, 264606. The production serial. It identifies the unit and decodes to nothing on its own.

vPIC's own pattern for this unit is 2NK4HJ7X*PM: the positions it decoded from, with the check digit masked. Two Kenworth VINs that share that pattern share every attribute vPIC filed for it and differ only in the check digit and the serial.

Weight class

Kenworth GVWR classes

Two reads of the gross vehicle weight rating, both from the federal record. First, what the manufacturer registered with NHTSA:

  • KENWORTH TRUCK COMPANY. Registered with NHTSA in Kirkland, WA, United States. Its registration record carries no GVWR range. 148 of the sampled Kenworth VINs decoded to it.
  • PACCAR INC. Registered with NHTSA in Bellevue, WA, United States as Completed Vehicle Manufacturer and Incomplete Vehicle Manufacturer. Registered vehicle types: Truck, Class 5: 16,001 - 19,500 lb (7,258 - 8,845 kg) to Class 8: 33,001 lb and above (14,969 kg and above) (primary). 1 of the sampled Kenworth VINs decoded to it.

Second, the GVWR class vPIC returned for each of the 149 Kenworth VINs in the sample:

GVWR class as filedUnits in sample
Class 8: 33,001 lb and above (14,969 kg and above)133
Class 7: 26,001 - 33,000 lb (11,794 - 14,969 kg)10
Class 6: 19,501 - 26,000 lb (8,845 - 11,794 kg)6
Body classes in the same sample
  • Truck-Tractor: 105 units
  • Truck: 44 units

If the VIN is not to hand, the rating is on the certification label on the unit itself; how to find GVWR walks through where to look.

From the road

Worked Kenworth VIN decodes

3 real Kenworth VINs from FMCSA's roadside inspection file, each decoded by vPIC with error code 0. Every field shown is what the manufacturer filed; a field that is missing was not filed for that pattern. Paste any of them into the decoder above to see the full card.

Truck
2NK4HJ7X7PM264606
Model year
1993 (vPIC: year code cycle not pinned by the filing)
Model
T600
Series
Export
Body class
Truck
Cab
MDHD: Conventional
Vehicle type
INCOMPLETE VEHICLE
GVWR
Class 7: 26,001 - 33,000 lb (11,794 - 14,969 kg)
Engine
4L-53, 3.5 L, 4 cylinders
Fuel
Diesel
Drive
4x2
Brakes
Air
Plant
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Manufacturer
KENWORTH TRUCK COMPANY
vPIC pattern
2NK4HJ7X*PM
Truck-Tractor
3WK4DJ9X9PF335377
Model year
1993 (vPIC: year code cycle not pinned by the filing)
Model
T600
Series
Export
Body class
Truck-Tractor
Cab
MDHD: Conventional
Vehicle type
TRUCK
GVWR
Class 8: 33,001 lb and above (14,969 kg and above)
Engine
4L-53, 3.5 L, 4 cylinders
Fuel
Diesel
Drive
6x4
Brakes
Air
Plant
Mexicali, California, United States
Manufacturer
KENWORTH TRUCK COMPANY
vPIC pattern
3WK4DJ9X*PF
Truck-Tractor
1XKWD29X3TR944132
Model year
2026 (vPIC: year code cycle not pinned by the filing)
Model
W9 Series
Body class
Truck-Tractor
Cab
MDHD: CBE (Cab Behind Engine)
Vehicle type
TRUCK
GVWR
Class 8: 33,001 lb and above (14,969 kg and above)
Engine
GX, 8.9 L, 6 cylinders
Fuel
Natural Gas
Drive
6x4
Brakes
Air
Plant
Renton, Washington, United States
Manufacturer
KENWORTH TRUCK COMPANY
vPIC pattern
1XKWD29X*TR
Sources

Where the Kenworth data comes from

FMCSA's Inspections Per Unit file (data.transportation.gov, dataset wt8s-2hbx) records every vehicle in a roadside inspection with the make code the inspector typed. It holds 492,474 truck tractor records under the code KW, 330,449 truck tractor records under the code KENWORTH and 115,796 straight truck records under the code KW. Native Base pulled 150 distinct VINs from those codes and sent them to NHTSA vPIC in batches: 150 came back, 149 decoded as KENWORTH, and 147 with a clean error code. The decode, not the inspector's code, decides what a unit is, which is why the same make appears under several spellings in the file.

  • Model years in the sample: 1985 to 2027.
  • Plants vPIC named most: Chillicothe, Ohio, United States (100), Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico (19) and Montreal, Quebec, Canada (14).
  • Vehicle types vPIC lists under the KENWORTH make: Truck and Incomplete Vehicle.
  • WMIs verified one by one through vPIC DecodeWMI; manufacturer registrations from GetManufacturerDetails. Fetched 2026-09-27.
FAQ

Kenworth VINs, answered.

What are the WMI codes for Kenworth?

Native Base verified 8 World Manufacturer Identifiers for Kenworth in NHTSA vPIC: 1XK, 1NK, 3WK, 2NK, 3BK, SBV, 2XK and SFN. The list is built from the manufacturers the VINs sampled for this page decode to, and NHTSA can have issued Kenworth other codes, so a VIN starting with a code not listed here can still be a Kenworth. The WMI is the first three characters of the 17-character VIN. 6 of them (1XK, 1NK, 3WK, 2NK, 3BK and SBV) appeared in the 149 Kenworth VINs Native Base sampled from FMCSA roadside inspection records; the rest are registered but were not seen in that sample.

What GVWR class is a Kenworth truck?

Kenworth's manufacturer registration with NHTSA carries no GVWR range. In the 149 Kenworth VINs Native Base sampled from FMCSA roadside inspections, the most common class vPIC returned was Class 8: 33,001 lb and above (14,969 kg and above) (133 units). The sample is capped, so read the mix as indicative of the make, not a count of its fleet.

How do I read the model year on a Kenworth VIN?

The 10th character of the VIN is the model year code. On 2NK4HJ7X7PM264606, a Kenworth truck from FMCSA's inspection file, position 10 is "P" and NHTSA vPIC decodes it as 1993. vPIC notes that the year code repeats every 30 years and this filing did not settle which cycle applies, so confirm the year on the certification label. The free Kenworth VIN decoder at the top of this page returns the same fields for any Kenworth VIN.

More manufacturers

Decode other truck and trailer makes

The same record, page by page. The truck and trailer VIN decoder takes any VIN and explains what a decode returns; each page below carries one manufacturer's WMI codes, VIN pattern, GVWR classes and worked decodes.

Checking the same unit against the FMCSA crash file? The VIN crash check takes the same 17 characters.

A whole Kenworth schedule?

One Kenworth VIN is a lookup.
Two hundred is a build.

We wire the same vPIC decode into an agency's AMS so a fleet list comes back as ACORD 129 rows, with the GVWR class checked against the prior dec page on every Kenworth unit.

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