VIN Decoder · Cadillac
Cadillac VIN Decoder: 1G6, 1GY, 3GY and Swedish BLS
Every Cadillac VIN we tested computes: 116 out of 116, from a 2004 SRX to a 2025 Lyriq. That includes the BLS, the one Cadillac built in Europe, which Saab assembled in Trollhättan under its own code, YSC. So when a Cadillac number fails position 9 here, treat it as a typo or a swapped plate until you can rule both out.
- WMI set: 6 codes, 1G6 to YSC
- Plant codes: 5 letters, two sources each
- Last verified: 8 October 2026
Decode a Cadillac VIN
Scope: Cadillac 1G6 · 1GY · 2G6 · 3GY · LRE · YSC0 / 17
A Cadillac VIN has no I, O or Q. The character after the year on a CT5 or ATS is a zero, Lansing's plant code, never the letter O.
What a Cadillac VIN actually tells you
1G6 opens the VIN of a Cadillac car built in the USA: ATS, CTS, CT5, CT6. 1GY marks the American SUVs, from the Escalade to the Lyriq, and 3GY the SRX assembled in Ramos Arizpe, Mexico, from model year 2010. Two codes come from outside North America. LRE belongs to SAIC-GM in Shanghai, which built the CT6 Plug-in. YSC was issued to Saab Automobile in Trollhättan for the BLS.
Every one of these codes carries a real ISO 3779 check digit in ninth place. North America requires it, yet it holds on the Chinese CT6 and on both Swedish BLS numbers we found as well. This page therefore shows any Cadillac mismatch in red, wherever the car was built.
Position 10 carries the model year, position 11 the plant. Cadillac uses few letters: 0 for Lansing Grand River (ATS, CTS, CT5), R for Arlington (Escalade), Z for Spring Hill (XT5, XT6, Lyriq), F for Fairfax in Kansas (XT4) and S for Ramos Arizpe (SRX).
Cadillac WMI codes
| WMI | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 1G6 | Cadillac, USA: cars such as ATS, CTS, CT5, CT6 |
| 1GY | Cadillac, USA: SUVs such as Escalade, XT4, XT5, XT6, Lyriq and the first SRX |
| 2G6 | Cadillac, Canada: cars |
| 3GY | Cadillac, Mexico: SUVs, e.g. the SRX from Ramos Arizpe |
| LRE | SAIC-GM, China: Cadillac for export, e.g. CT6 Plug-in from Jinqiao |
| YSC | Saab Automobile, Trollhättan, Sweden: Cadillac BLS |
NHTSA's vPIC register and the Wikibooks GM tables back every code. YSC is missing from vPIC because the BLS was never sold in the US, so it was checked against the Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt list instead. 1GK is GMC's SUV code; Cadillac SUVs use 1GY or 3GY.
Where Cadillacs come from, and what that means for the VIN
Cadillac builds almost entirely in North America, so most Cadillacs on German, Swedish or Polish roads carry an American VIN. The exception is the BLS, developed and built by Saab and sold in Europe from March 2006. Found a BLS estate in a Swedish listing? Its VIN starts YSC, not 1G6.
USA: 1G6, 1GY
- Lansing Grand River (0) builds the sedans, Arlington (R) the Escalade.
- Spring Hill (Z) makes the XT5, XT6 and electric Lyriq; Fairfax (F) the XT4.
- A letter in position 7 marks 2010 or later, so 1GYS4HKJ with J in tenth place is 2018.
Mexico and China: 3GY, LRE
- 3GY with S in position 11 is an SRX from Ramos Arizpe.
- LRE is SAIC-GM in Shanghai; the CT6 Plug-in came from its Jinqiao plant.
- Both compute the check digit, exactly like the American codes.
Sweden: YSC, the Saab-built BLS
- Built in Trollhättan alongside the Saab 9-3, as a saloon from 2006 and an estate from 2007.
- Its check digit computes, and position 10 holds the year: 6 stands for 2006.
- NHTSA has no record of the BLS, so its database cannot decode one; this page reads the WMI.
A 0 in position 11 is a plant, not a blank
European Toyotas and BMWs put a 0 in position 10 to say the year is not encoded. On a Cadillac a 0 turns up one place later and does mean something: Lansing Grand River, where the ATS, CTS and CT5 are built. 1G6DT5RK9L0000001 is a 2020 CT5 from Lansing. The only exception is a run of about 40 CT5-V Blackwing 20th Anniversary cars finished at GM's Artisan Center, which reuse the same 0.
Green: position 9 computes. Red: it doesn't, and on a Cadillac that is never expected, not even on the BLS or the Shanghai-built CT6. That is why this page has no amber state for Cadillac codes. Seeing red? Retype the VIN from the windscreen plate before you suspect anything worse.
Model year: position 10 on a Cadillac
On every Cadillac here, position 10 is the model year. American and Mexican VINs also fix the 30-year cycle: when position 7 is a letter, the car is from 2010 or later. 1GYEE63A…8 has a digit there, which makes it a 2008 SRX. The BLS is the odd one out. A Swedish VIN gives the decoder no cycle marker, so for an imported BLS the first-registration entry in its papers (field B in Germany, the V5C in Britain) answers the question.
| Code | Model year | Code | Model year |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 2010 | M | 2021 |
| B | 2011 | N | 2022 |
| C | 2012 | P | 2023 |
| D | 2013 | R | 2024 |
| E | 2014 | S | 2025 |
| F | 2015 | T | 2026 |
| G | 2016 | V | 2027 |
| H | 2017 | W | 2028 |
| J | 2018 | X | 2029 |
| K | 2019 | Y | 2030 |
| L | 2020 |
Frequently asked questions
What do the Cadillac WMI codes 1G6, 1GY and 3GY mean?
1G6 is a Cadillac car built in the USA (ATS, CTS, CT5, CT6). 1GY is a Cadillac SUV from the USA (Escalade, XT4, XT5, XT6, Lyriq). 3GY is a Cadillac SUV from Mexico, as on the SRX from 2010. 2G6 is the Canadian car code, LRE the SAIC-GM code from China, YSC the BLS from Sweden.
Should a Cadillac VIN pass the check digit?
Yes, wherever it was built. We recomputed 116 real Cadillac VINs, model years 2004 to 2025: 41 cars with 1G6, 62 SUVs with 1GY, 10 SRX with 3GY, one CT6 from Shanghai and two BLS from Trollhättan. Every single one passed. If yours fails, a misread character is the usual cause, such as a 0 read as O or an 8 read as B.
Where is the VIN on a Cadillac?
Bend down by the driver's door and read it through the glass: US law wants it visible from outside at the lower left corner of the windscreen. The door frame holds another label. Your papers repeat it, in field E on German documents and on the V5C if the car is British-registered. Importing an Escalade from the US? All three must agree before you pay.
Is the Cadillac BLS a Saab?
Underneath, largely. Saab developed it and built it in Trollhättan next to the 9-3, and the Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt lists its WMI, YSC, under Saab Automobile AB. YSC is reserved for the BLS, so this page treats it as a Cadillac. Its VIN follows the strict rule as well: both BLS numbers we found have a correct check digit.
What can't a Cadillac VIN tell you?
Colour, trim level and optional equipment. The descriptor block (characters four through eight) pins down the model line, body and drive; for anything finer you need the build sheet or the dealer invoice. Service history isn't in the VIN either.