Where to find your car's paint code

The paint code is the short code the factory uses for your car's color, and it's what touch-up paint is sold by. Here's how to find the paint code on a car, in the order we'd check:

1. The driver's door jamb. Open the driver's door and look at the labels on the door edge and the pillar it closes against. Federal rules require a certification label on the hinge pillar, the door-latch post or the door edge next to the driver's seat. Ford prints the paint code on that label, after EXT PNT.
2. Another label on the car. If the door jamb label shows no paint code, your automaker may print it on a different label elsewhere on the car. The owner's manual or a dealer can tell you where.
3. The original window sticker. Window stickers list the factory options and colors, so a copy gives you the color name. A dealer of your make can usually print the original from the VIN.
4. A dealer's parts department. Give them the VIN and ask for the factory paint code.

Write the code down exactly as it's printed, including any leading zero. Touch-up paint is matched by code, not by the color's name.

The door jamb label is crowded, so it helps to know what everything else on it is. Federal rules require the certification label to show:

• the manufacturer's name
• the month and year of manufacture
• the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) and gross axle weight ratings (GAWR)
• a statement that the vehicle conforms to federal safety standards
• the 17-character VIN
• the vehicle type, such as passenger car or truck

None of those is the paint code. The color code is extra information an automaker chooses to add, either on this label or on another one. On a Ford, look for EXT PNT: Ford says newer vehicles show a two-character code after it, and older vehicles may show more characters. If you see two codes close together and aren't sure which is the exterior color, the dealer's parts department can confirm it from the VIN.

Paint codes are short. The examples below, from automakers' own sites, are two or three characters mixing letters and numbers. The color name is what the brochure calls it; the code is what the paint is mixed and sold by.

The paint code location varies by automaker, and Ford is the only one we could confirm from the automaker itself, so we won't guess at the others. For a Subaru, BMW, Toyota or any other make, work through it in this order:

1. Check every label in the driver's door jamb, on both the door and the pillar.
2. Check the owner's manual for where the car's labels are.
3. Call a dealer's parts department with your VIN.

Once you have a code, check it against the automaker's own parts site before you order. Subaru and Toyota both list touch-up paint by code, like Subaru's K7X for WR Blue Pearl or Toyota's 1G3 for Magnetic Gray. If the code you found doesn't come up for your model, confirm it with the dealer before you buy paint.

Not from the VIN itself. Federal rules spell out what the 17 characters encode. For a passenger car, positions 4 to 8 describe the make, line, series, body type, engine type and restraint systems, position 10 is the model year, position 11 is the plant, and the last six are the serial number. Color isn't part of it.

What the VIN does is identify your exact car, which opens up the factory records:

• A dealer's parts department can usually look up the factory color from it.
• A dealer of your make can usually print the original window sticker from it, and the sticker lists the colors.

For some makes, the free window sticker lookup opens the original sticker from the VIN, color name included. The free VIN decoder confirms the year, make and model, but like any VIN decoder, it can't tell you the color.

Federal rules require the certification label to be riveted or permanently attached, so it can't come off without being destroyed or defaced. A missing, torn or painted-over door jamb label can be a sign of body work or a replaced door. If you're buying, ask about it.

If the car has been repainted a different color, or the paint has faded, the factory code won't give you a true match anymore. A body shop or an automotive paint supplier can match the paint from the car itself, so take the car to them and let them see the current color in daylight.

Chips and scratches show up in close-up listing photos, and touching them up in the right code is a small job. Order by code, test the paint somewhere hidden first, and let it dry fully before you wash or photograph the car. Put the factory color name in your listing too, so buyers know exactly which shade it is. Then shoot in soft, even light so the color looks true. Our car photography tips cover light and angles, and how to sell a car covers the rest of the sale.