Mack VIN Decoder

Decode any Mack VIN free in seconds. Enter the 17-character vehicle identification number from your truck into the decoder above and get the model, model year, GVWR class, engine, assembly plant, and recall status instantly. No sign-up, no credit card.

This page is the Mack VIN hub: WMI codes, assembly plants, a position-by-position guide to reading a Mack VIN, where to find the VIN on the truck itself, and how to check recalls for the Anthem, Pinnacle, Granite, Keystone, and MD.

About Mack

Mack traces its roots to July 26, 1900, when brothers Jack and Gus Mack founded the Mack Brothers Company in Brooklyn, New York, building buses and heavy wagons. The company moved to Allentown, Pennsylvania, in 1905 and adopted the Mack Trucks name in 1922. Allentown remained home base for more than a century, until 2009, when Mack relocated its corporate headquarters to Greensboro, North Carolina, alongside Volvo Group’s North American operations.

Mack’s “Bulldog” nickname dates to World War I, when British soldiers driving the Mack AC nicknamed it “Bulldog Mack” for its blunt hood and toughness. Chief engineer Alfred Masury turned that nickname into the hood ornament, patented in 1932 and fitted to trucks from 1933 on; it remains Mack’s emblem today.

AB Volvo, the Swedish truck and industrial manufacturer, acquired Mack as part of its purchase of Renault’s truck division, a deal that closed on January 2, 2001. Volvo Group, the commercial-vehicle side of AB Volvo, is a separate company from Volvo Cars, owned by China’s Geely and covered elsewhere on this site; the two have not shared ownership since Volvo Cars was sold off in 1999.

Nearly every Mack Class 8 truck sold in North America, the Anthem, Pinnacle, Granite, and the newly launched Keystone, is assembled at Mack Lehigh Valley Operations in Macungie, Pennsylvania, opened 1975 and still Mack’s sole complete-vehicle plant for heavy trucks. The medium-duty MD Series has been built since 2020 at Roanoke Valley Operations in Salem, Virginia. A separate plant in Hagerstown, Maryland, builds Mack’s MP7, MP8, and MP13 diesel engines, transmissions, and drivelines.

Mack WMI codes (positions 1-3)

The first three characters of your VIN, the World Manufacturer Identifier (WMI), identify the manufacturer, country, and vehicle type. Here are the WMIs NHTSA’s vPIC database assigns to Mack Trucks Inc. and its former Canadian arm:

If your VIN begins with any of the codes above, it’s a genuine Mack. The 2M1-2M3 codes are worth a note: Mack’s Oakville, Ontario plant closed in 1993, so those WMIs belong to older trucks, not current production. An “incomplete vehicle” WMI (1M2, 1M3, 2M2, 2M3) means the truck left the factory as a cab and chassis to be finished by a second-stage manufacturer, common on vocational and fire-apparatus builds.

How to read a Mack VIN: position by position

Every Mack VIN built since 1981 follows the ISO 3779 17-character standard. The 17 characters split into three blocks:

Here is what each position means specifically on a Mack.

Position 4: Chassis and axle configuration

As on most heavy-truck VINs, position 4 flags the chassis type: day-cab tractor, sleeper tractor, or straight truck, and its general axle arrangement. This is where a Class 8 highway tractor and a vocational dump-truck chassis diverge before the model code even appears.

Positions 5-6: Model, cab, and GVWR class

These two characters jointly identify the model line, cab configuration, and GVWR class: the Anthem and Pinnacle (both highway tractors, with the Keystone now replacing Pinnacle), the Granite (vocational/construction), and the medium-duty MD Series. GVWR rides on the same characters, spanning the Class 6 range of the MD Series up through Class 8 (33,001 lbs and up) for the Anthem, Pinnacle, Keystone, and Granite.

Positions 7-8: Engine and brakes

Positions 7-8 identify the engine family and brake system. Mack’s own MP7 (11-liter), MP8 (13-liter), and MP13 diesels power the Anthem, Pinnacle, Granite, and Keystone. The MD Series, built in Salem, Virginia, uses the Cummins B6.7, a 6.7-liter inline-six sourced outside Mack’s own engine plant in Hagerstown, Maryland.

Position 9: Check digit

The check digit is the most important single character in any VIN, calculated from the other 16 using a fixed weighting table and modulo-11 math. If even one character is mistyped, the check digit won’t match, and any compliant decoder or fleet-management system will flag it as invalid.

Position 10: Model year

The 10th character maps to a model year on a repeating cycle used across the entire North American VIN standard, including Mack. Skim the chart below to translate yours:

The letters I, O, and Q are never used in any VIN, including Mack, because they look too similar to the digits 1 and 0.

Position 11: Assembly plant

The single character at position 11 identifies the specific factory that built the truck. Because Mack concentrates North American production into a small number of plants, this maps to relatively few locations: current Class 8 models (Anthem, Pinnacle, Granite, Keystone) come from Mack Lehigh Valley Operations in Macungie, Pennsylvania, while the MD Series carries the code for Roanoke Valley Operations in Salem, Virginia. Trucks with a 2M1, 2M2, or 2M3 WMI were built at the former Mack Canada plant in Oakville, Ontario, closed since 1993.

Positions 12-17: Serial number

The final six characters are the production sequence number assigned to your truck on the line, making every Mack VIN globally unique.

Where to find the VIN on a Mack

Mack trucks are heavy commercial vehicles, and federal VIN-placement rules treat them differently from cars. Under 49 CFR 565.15, the windshield-visibility requirement applies only to vehicles with a GVWR of 10,000 lbs or less. Every Mack Class 6-8 truck sits well above that threshold, so there’s no windshield VIN plate to look for. Instead, look here:

• The certification/compliance label on the driver’s side door frame or hinge pillar, visible when the door is open. It lists the VIN, GVWR, GAWR, and date of manufacture
• The VIN stamped into the top flange of the left frame rail, typically near the front axle
• The vehicle’s title, registration, and dealer service records

The 17-character VIN standard covered here applies to Mack trucks built on or after 1981. For older trucks, use our classic car VIN decoder guide.

Check Mack recalls and safety information

Mack recalls, like all US recalls, are tracked by NHTSA. The fastest way to check a specific Mack:

1. Decode the VIN above to confirm the model, model year, and GVWR class
2. Look it up at Mack’s official recall lookup, which accepts your full VIN, or search NHTSA’s recall database
3. Contact your nearest authorized Mack dealer for the free recall repair

Recalls are repaired free of charge regardless of vehicle age, mileage, or ownership history.

Frequently asked questions

How do I decode my Mack VIN?

Type the 17-character VIN from your Mack’s door-frame certification label, frame rail stamp, or title into the decoder at the top of this page. Results include model, model year, GVWR class, engine, assembly plant, and open recalls. No registration is required.

Where is the VIN on my Mack?

Unlike a car, a Mack’s VIN isn’t required to be visible through the windshield; that rule only applies under 10,000 lbs GVWR. Check the certification label on the driver’s door frame or hinge pillar, and the VIN stamped into the left frame rail near the front axle.

Is the Mack VIN decoder free?

Yes. VinDecoderPlus decodes every Mack VIN free, with no sign-up or credit card. Full vehicle history reports, including title, accident, and odometer history, are available as an optional paid upgrade.

What does the VIN tell me about my Mack?

A VIN decode confirms the original factory configuration: model (Anthem, Pinnacle, Granite, Keystone, MD, and others), GVWR class, engine, model year, assembly plant, and any recall actions issued against that VIN. It does not record current mileage, accident history, or ownership chain. For those, you need a paid vehicle history report.

Is Mack owned by Volvo?

Yes. AB Volvo, the Swedish truck maker, acquired Mack in a deal that closed on January 2, 2001. Volvo Group, the commercial-vehicle side of AB Volvo, is a different company from Volvo Cars, which is owned by China’s Geely; the two split apart in 1999 and have been separately owned since.

Can a Mack VIN be faked?

The 17 characters can be retyped, but the check digit at position 9 makes silent tampering nearly impossible: one changed character breaks the math. The VIN is also stamped independently into the frame rail, so a cloned door label won’t match the frame. If you suspect a cloned VIN, our guide how to check if a car is stolen by VIN walks through the next steps.

Decode any Mack VIN free

Type your 17-character Mack VIN into the decoder at the top of this page and get a full breakdown instantly. To learn more about VIN structure in general, see our guides:

• How to read a VIN number
• What every character in a VIN means
• Classic car VIN decoder (pre-1981)
• VIN decoder vs. vehicle history report