How to find your car's paint code

Where carmakers put the paint code, what it looks like, and what to do when the label is missing.

Every car leaves the factory with its paint code printed on a label or plate. That short code, not the colour's marketing name, is what a paint shop needs to mix a match. Names get reused for different shades and translated between markets; the code does not.

Where to look first

1. Driver's door jamb. Open the door and look at the B-pillar and the door's rear edge. Most Asian and North American cars print the code here.
2. Under the bonnet. Strut towers, the firewall and the radiator support are common on BMW, Subaru, older Japanese and many European cars.
3. Boot floor. Volkswagen, Audi, SEAT and Skoda put a data sticker in the spare-wheel well.
4. Glovebox. General Motors cars carry a Service Parts Identification label inside the glovebox.
5. Service booklet. Many European makers copy the data sticker into the booklet.

What a paint code looks like

Most codes are two to four characters: 040, UH, LC9X, NH-731P. They are often next to a word such as PAINT, PNT, COLOR, EXT or Lack. A trim or interior code may share the line, separated by a slash.

No label?

Labels fade, get painted over or go missing after repairs. A dealer can read the original colour from the VIN, and the service booklet or the original sales documents often list it too. If the car has been resprayed in another colour, the factory code no longer describes it: take a part with the paint (the fuel filler flap is ideal) to a paint shop to be scanned.

Pick your make on the paint code location guides for the exact spot.