October 21, 2026 Farhad Musazada

Kei Truck VIN Numbers: How to Read a Japanese Frame Number

By Farhad Musazada, owner of Skyline Kei Trucks. Last updated: October 21, 2026. Based on 49 CFR Part 565, ISO 3779, Japan's Road Transport Vehicle Act numbering rules, MLIT emission-code lists and TxDMV bulletins; federal rules, MLIT code lists, Suzuki catalog and TxDMV bulletins checked October 2026 (sources at the end). General information, not legal advice.

Key facts

No 17-digit VIN: A kei truck built for Japan carries a 車台番号 (shadai bangō, the chassis or frame number): a model code, a hyphen and a factory serial, such as S210P-0123456. Japan never adopted the 17-character format for vehicles sold at home.
What a VIN actually is: The 17-character VIN comes from ISO 3779 and, in the U.S., 49 CFR Part 565: a manufacturer code, a vehicle descriptor, a check digit in position 9, a model-year code, a plant code and a serial. A Japanese frame number has none of that structure.
The prefix is an emissions code: The letters before the hyphen in the model designation (型式) on the export certificate, such as V-, GD- or LE-, name the Japanese exhaust regulation the truck was certified under. They are not part of the stamped number.
Texas takes the frame number: Texas titles kei trucks under the chassis number. Since April 23, 2026, the state system automatically rejects these non-conforming VINs and the county must send the file to TxDMV special handling, which adds time but is how the title gets released.

Why doesn't a kei truck have a 17-digit VIN?

The 17-character vehicle identification number is a standard, not a law of nature. ISO 3779 set it up so that road vehicles everywhere could be identified the same way, and the United States wrote it into 49 CFR Part 565: "each VIN shall consist of seventeen (17) characters." Positions 1 to 3 identify the manufacturer, 4 to 8 describe the vehicle, position 9 is a check digit calculated from the other sixteen, position 10 is the model year, 11 the assembly plant and 12 to 17 the serial. The rule is written for vehicles subject to the Federal motor vehicle safety standards, which a Japanese work truck was never built to meet.

Japan runs a different system for vehicles sold at home. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) assigns each vehicle a 車台番号, and the Road Transport Vehicle Act allows only the manufacturer or a Transport Bureau to stamp it; altering a stamped number is an offense. The number is the model code, a hyphen, then a serial of five to seven digits. The Japanese Wikipedia entry uses the example SX31-9000001, where SX31 is the model and the rest is the production serial.

The two systems coexist: a Suzuki built for export to the United States gets a 17-character VIN, and the same factory's domestic trucks get a frame number. A kei truck isn't missing a VIN; it has the identifier its home market uses.

How is a Japanese frame number built?

Read the number left to right. Everything before the hyphen is the model code (型式, katashiki), approved by MLIT as a type designation; everything after it is the factory serial. The model code packs in the family, the generation and usually the drivetrain and body type. The serials below are made up to show the format; the 2WD and 4x4 pairs are the ones in our Hijet, Carry, Acty, Sambar and Minicab comparison.

Example number	What it is	How to read it
S210P-0123456	Daihatsu Hijet truck, 1999 to 2004 series	S for the Hijet family, 210 for this 4x4 generation (S200P is 2WD), P for pickup. MLIT's kei cargo list also shows S200V (van) and S200W (Deck Van).
DB52T-0012345	Suzuki Carry truck, January 1999 series	DB is 4x4 and DA 2WD, 52 the 1999 generation, T the truck. Suzuki's January 1999 catalog lists GD-DA52T and GD-DB52T.
HA7-1234567	Honda Acty truck, 1999 to 2009	HA6 is 2WD and HA7 4x4 in the generation Honda launched on May 27, 1999; the vans are HH5 and HH6.
TT2-0098765	Subaru Sambar truck, 1999 to 2012	TT1 is 2WD and TT2 4x4; the vans are TV1 and TV2.
U62T-0001234	Mitsubishi Minicab truck, 1999 to 2014	U61T is 2WD and U62T 4x4; T is the truck, V the van.
JB23W-0123456	Suzuki Jimny, October 1998 on	The kei Jimny with the 660 cc turbo; the 1.3-liter Jimny Wide is JB33W. See our Jimny guide.

The code gives the generation and drivetrain, never the model year; that comes from the export certificate.

What do the letters before the model code mean?

On the export certificate the model designation is longer than the stamped code: V-S110P, GD-S210P, LE-S210P. The letters in front are Japan's emissions identification code (排出ガス規制の識別記号); each new exhaust regulation got its own. Per the Japanese Wikipedia summary of the regulations, codes were mostly single letters into the 1990s, two letters from 1993 and three from 2005. The frame stamp never includes the prefix. Years below come from MLIT's code glossary for the 2000 and 2005 rules and from a Kanagawa Prefecture emissions survey that pairs GD- and GF- vehicles with the 1998 regulation.

Prefix	Regulation	Vehicle class	Where you will see it
V-	1990 (Heisei 2) regulation	Light cargo vehicles (kei trucks and vans)	Most kei trucks and vans certified from 1990 to 1998
GD-	1998 (Heisei 10) regulation	Light cargo vehicles	The 1999 to 2001 trucks we sell most, such as GD-S210P Hijets, GD-DB52T Carrys and GD-U62T Minicabs
GF-	1998 (Heisei 10) regulation	Gasoline passenger cars	Late-1990s passenger cars, including early JB23W Jimnys
GH-, TA-, LA-, UA-	2000 (Heisei 12) regulation	Gasoline passenger cars	GH- meets the rule; TA- is 25% below its limits, LA- 50%, UA- 75%
TE-, LE-	2000 (Heisei 12) regulation	Kei trucks and vans	TE- is 25% below the limits, LE- 50%; the codes that followed GD-
ABA-, CBA-, DBA- / EBD-, GBD-, HBD-	2005 (Heisei 17) and 2007 regulations	Passenger cars / kei trucks and vans	ABA- and EBD- meet the rule; the others sit 50% or 75% below it. Not import-eligible before 2030

For a buyer the prefix is a plausibility check: GD- or LE- on a truck sold as a 1999 to 2001 build fits, V- would not. It means nothing to a Texas county.

Where is the number on the truck?

Japanese law requires the chassis number to be stamped into the vehicle. On a truck with a separate frame it goes on the frame itself; a unibody car gets it on a structural member such as the bulkhead behind the engine. The same number appears on a permanently fixed manufacturer's nameplate (銘板, the caution plate) next to the model designation. The stamp and the plate are what the VTR-68-A officer compares with your export certificate, so find both before the appointment. The exact spot varies by model; at our lot, ask and we'll point them out.

A stamped number stays with the vehicle for life. The only legal exception is an official re-stamp (職権打刻) by a Transport Bureau after frame replacement or damage; since June 30, 2009, those re-stamps are laser-marked metal plates rather than punched digits. If the number on a truck doesn't match its certificate, stop and ask questions before money changes hands.

What does the export certificate say?

Kei vehicles are handled by the Light Motor Vehicle Inspection Organization (軽自動車検査協会), not the Transport Bureaus. When a kei truck leaves Japan, the owner hands in its vehicle certificate (自動車検査証) and plates and applies for a 輸出予定届出証明書, the export notification certificate. A larger JDM vehicle such as a Pajero goes through the Transport Bureau's 輸出抹消仮登録 procedure and gets a 輸出抹消仮登録証明書, an export deregistration certificate. Either one is the Japanese ownership record you give the county, with the English translation we supply (TxDMV wants a certified translation; some counties ask for a notarized one).

Field (Japanese)	English	What it means for you
型式	Model designation	Emissions prefix plus model code, for example GD-S210P; the frame stamp uses only S210P
車台番号	Chassis (frame) number	Model code plus serial, S210P-0123456 in our example; copy it exactly as written onto every U.S. form
原動機の型式	Engine model	EF-SE (1999 Hijet), F6A (1999 Carry), 3G83 (Minicab)
総排気量	Displacement	In liters; a kei engine of 657 to 659 cc prints as 0.65 or 0.66
初度検査年月 (kei) / 初度登録年月 (larger vehicles)	First certification or first registration, year and month	The closest thing to a model year; it is not the build date
最大積載量	Maximum load	350 kg (about 770 lb) on a kei truck
車両重量	Vehicle weight	Curb weight; Suzuki's 1999 catalog lists Carry trucks at 670 to 740 kg (about 1,480 to 1,630 lb)
乗車定員	Seating capacity	2 on a standard-cab kei truck

Match the chassis number on the certificate to the stamp on the frame before you buy, as our buyer's guide says. The date field shows month and year only; our FAQ covers how the 25-year rule is counted from the build month.

What happens at the county tax office?

Texas first. TxDMV's Registration and Title Bulletin 001-24 of April 4, 2024, says that "mini vehicles are required to be titled and must be registered if operated on public roadways," and lists the documents: evidence of ownership, Form 130-U, Form VTR-68-A if the vehicle was last titled or registered in another country, and proof of U.S. Customs entry. If any document says "off-highway use only," the title carries that remark and the truck can't be registered.

The frame number is where the paperwork hiccups. Texas records it in the VIN field as written. On April 23, 2026, TxDMV told county offices that "mini vehicle title transactions with non-conforming VINs are automatically rejected by the system as an invalid VIN," and that counties must review their rejection report daily and send those files to VTR_Special_Handling@txdmv.gov so the titles can be released. Ask the clerk to confirm your file has gone to special handling. The same bulletin confirms that VTR-68-A is required for every mini vehicle imported into the U.S. that was last titled or registered abroad; a VIN photo substitutes only for a vehicle previously titled in a U.S. jurisdiction. Our Texas title guide walks through the whole visit; the FAQ has a short answer on getting a Texas title.

Online tools won't help. NHTSA's vPIC decoder validates the check digit in position 9 under 49 CFR Part 565; a frame number has no manufacturer identifier and no check digit, so there is nothing for it to match. Insurers quote these trucks from the chassis number on the export certificate; tell them it is a 25-year-or-older Japanese import. Outside Texas, procedures differ and some states won't register a kei truck at all, so check our 50-state laws map before you buy for road use.

Frequently asked questions

Is a kei truck's chassis number the same as a VIN?

Not technically. A VIN is the 17-character code defined by ISO 3779 and 49 CFR Part 565, with a manufacturer identifier and a check digit; a Japanese chassis number is a model code plus a serial. Texas and the federal import forms use the chassis number in the VIN field, so on your Texas title it appears as the VIN.

Can I decode a kei truck VIN online?

No. VIN decoders, including NHTSA's, are built for the 17-character format and have no manufacturer code or check digit to work from. Read the model code yourself with the table above; the export certificate gives the date, engine model and displacement.

What does GD- in front of my Hijet's model code mean?

GD- is the emissions identification code for light cargo vehicles certified under Japan's 1998 (Heisei 10) exhaust regulation, which is why it appears on nearly every 1999 to 2001 kei truck. It is part of the type designation on the certificate, not of the stamped number, and it has no bearing on Texas titling.

Does the export certificate show the model year?

It shows the year and month the truck first received its Japanese certificate (初度検査年月), which is the year our listings use. NHTSA counts the 25 years from the month of manufacture, so a truck first certified in December 2001 may not be eligible until late 2026. Ask us for the build month on any 2001 truck.

Sources

Written by Farhad Musazada, owner of Skyline Kei Trucks

Farhad imports more than 300 kei trucks a year to Houston and meets buyers at the lot at 6100 Harvey Wilson Dr. He writes these guides from the paperwork our buyers take to the county tax office and the official sources listed on each page. Spotted something out of date? Email us and we will check it.

Ready to look? Browse kei trucks for sale in Houston, see what is in Houston now or arriving soon, or call or text (713) 385-9798.

All vehicles are sold by Wideway Motors LLC as is, with no warranty.