Ford Paint Code: Where to Find It and How to Read It
The exact label to look for on a Ford, how the code is printed, what people mistake it for, and 12 verified Ford colour codes.
NHTSA vPIC has no colour field, so no VIN decoder returns one. The label on the vehicle is the reliable route.
Ford prints the paint code on the Safety Compliance Certification Label, the sticker inside the driver's door — on the rear latch edge of the door itself or the B-pillar it closes against. Look for the field marked EXT PNT. The code is two characters mixing letters and digits, such as YZ (Oxford White) or J7 (Magnetic Metallic). A 17-character VIN does not contain it.
Where is the paint code on a Ford?
- Driver's door, rear latch edge. The Safety Compliance Certification Label, Ford's name for the door jamb sticker, carries the paint code on 1970 vehicles through current models. Sources disagree on the exact surface: Ford's own support pages place it on the driver's side door jamb at the door latch post pillar, while The Ranger Station and AutomotiveTouchup place it on the latch edge of the door itself. Check both — the door's rear edge and the B-pillar it closes against. On most cars and trucks from the 1990s onward it is on the door edge. Look for the column of boxes on the left of the label: EXT PNT is directly above WB.
- Driver's door rear face (1964–1969). Pre-1970 Fords carry a riveted metal Warranty Plate, not an adhesive sticker, attached to the rear face of the driver's door. The exterior paint code is a single letter or digit on the second (lower) line, following the body style code and preceding the interior trim code. On factory two-tone cars the lower body colour appears first in the paint colour space. Ford replaced the riveted Warranty Plate with the adhesive Vehicle Certification Label for the 1970 model year, which is when the code moved to a labelled EXT PNT or COL field.
- Under-hood slam panel (European-built Fords only). On some European-market Fords such as the Transit Custom, older models carry the paint label on the slam panel beside the bonnet catch rather than in the door shut, with newer ones moving to the door shut. This does not apply to US-market Fords, where the driver's door label is the location across the range — but it is worth checking if the vehicle is a grey import or a European-built van.
How to read the Ford paint code
Two characters, printed immediately to the right of the field label EXT PNT. Ford mixes letters and digits with no fixed pattern: YZ, UA, G1, J7, N1, D4. On the label the fields run down a column of boxes on the left side, and EXT PNT sits directly above WB (wheelbase). Refinish catalogues append a slash and Ford's mixing formula — UA/M6373, J7/M7325, AZ/M7446A — but only the two characters appear on the vehicle; the M-number is for the paint counter. The field most often mistaken for it is INT TR, the interior trim code, which sits in the same column. Warranty Plates on 1964–1969 Fords carry a single character rather than two.
- Open the driver's door and look at the rear latch edge of the door and the B-pillar it closes against for a white or silver label reading MFD BY FORD MOTOR CO. or Safety Compliance Certification Label.
- Find the column of boxes down the left side of the label. EXT PNT sits directly above WB (wheelbase). Read the characters printed to the right of EXT PNT.
- Write the two characters down exactly. If a slash and an M-number follow, such as UA/M6373, keep both — the two characters identify the colour and the M-number is Ford's mixing formula that the paint supplier will want.
- Ignore INT TR in the same column. That is the interior trim code, not the paint code, and it is the field most commonly misread as one.
- If two codes appear under EXT PNT, the vehicle is factory two-tone. Record both and note which panels carry which colour, because Ford's labels do not always say.
- Verify the code against a refinish supplier's chart for your model year and check that the colour name matches the paint you can actually see. If they disagree, the vehicle has been resprayed or the door is not original — confirm against the build record through a Ford dealer, or a Marti Report for a 1967–2020 vehicle.
Common Ford paint codes
| Code | Ford colour name | Where it appears |
|---|---|---|
| YZ | Oxford White | Ford's long-running solid white, used across the range for decades; sometimes catalogued as YZ/Z1 on Mustangs. |
| UA | Black (Ebony) | Frequently printed or catalogued as UA/UD, with mixing formulas M6373 and M6877. |
| G1 | Shadow Black | Replaced UA as the standard black on many models from the mid-2010s. |
| UM | Agate Black Metallic | Roughly 2019–2022 across F-Series and others; formula M7414. |
| UX | Ingot Silver Metallic | Widely used across F-Series, Escape, Explorer and Transit. |
| J7 | Magnetic Metallic | Approximately 2015–2022; formula M7325. Also offered as a matte grey variant on some trims. |
| PQ | Race Red | Formula M7236; common on F-Series, Mustang and Focus. |
| N1 | Blue Jeans Metallic | Roughly 2013–2022; formula M7291. |
| E7 | Velocity Blue | Formula M7423; F-150, Ranger, Mustang and Bronco Sport. |
| W6 | Green Gem (Pearl Metallic) | Seen on early-2010s F-Series and Escape. |
| AZ | Star White Metallic Tri-Coat | Three-stage finish, formula M7446A. Needs base, mid-coat and clear — not a single-stage colour. |
| D4 | Rapid Red Metallic Tinted Clearcoat | Tri-coat, formula M7444, roughly 2020–2025 across most of the lineup. |
This list is not every colour Ford has sold. Always confirm against the label on your own vehicle before ordering paint.
What to know before you order paint
- A 17-character VIN does not encode the paint code. Decoding a Ford VIN through NHTSA's vPIC Decode VIN API returns 140 variables — plant, body class, engine, restraints, GVWR — and not one of them is colour or paint. Any service advertising a Ford paint code from a VIN is either querying a manufacturer build record behind the scenes or inferring from the model and year.
- PaintScratch states that Ford codes are "normally always two characters" and that the /M#### suffix in supplier catalogues can be ignored when reading the door label. The M-number is Ford's refinish mixing formula for the paint counter's tinting system, not the body code stamped on the vehicle.
- PaintScratch also warns that Ford's two-tone labelling is inconsistent and that the secondary or lower-body colour is sometimes omitted at the factory, so a visibly two-tone truck may show only one code under EXT PNT.
- Marti Auto Works holds an exclusive licence to Ford Motor Company's production database and can supply the original paint and trim code by VIN for Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles built in the US and Canada for the 1967–2020 model years. Marti notes that special-order paint is recorded as "Unknown" because Ford kept no record of those colours.
- The Ranger Station's breakdown of the Ford compliance label confirms EXT PNT as the exterior paint field alongside INT TR (interior trim), WB (wheelbase), TR (transmission) and AXLE. INT TR is the field most often mistaken for the paint code, because it sits in the same column of boxes.
Ford and refinish sources
Open the underlying public source and verify that its scope matches the question you are asking.
Ford paint code questions
Can I get my Ford's paint code from the VIN alone?
No. A 17-character VIN does not encode paint. Decoded through NHTSA's vPIC API, a Ford VIN returns 140 fields covering plant, body class, engine and restraint systems, and none of them is colour. Sites advertising "paint code by VIN" either query a manufacturer build record behind the scenes or guess from the model and year. The door label is the reliable source.
Where exactly is the paint code on a Ford F-150?
On the Safety Compliance Certification Label inside the driver's door. Open the door and check both the rear latch edge of the door and the B-pillar it closes against. The label carries a column of boxes down the left side; EXT PNT sits directly above WB (wheelbase), and the two-character paint code is printed to its right. The same layout applies across F-Series, Explorer, Escape, Transit and Mustang.
My Ford label shows two codes under EXT PNT — what does that mean?
The vehicle left the factory two-tone, and each code is one of the two body colours, printed separated by a space. Ford's two-tone labelling is inconsistent: PaintScratch warns that the secondary or lower-body colour is sometimes left off the label entirely at the factory. If only one code appears on an obviously two-tone vehicle, have a Ford dealer confirm the second from the build record.
What is the M-number after the slash, like UA/M6373?
That is Ford's refinish mixing formula, not the body colour code. The door label shows only the two-character code; refinish suppliers append the M-number because it identifies the exact formula their tinting system mixes. Both are useful at the paint counter, but only the two characters appear on the vehicle. Examples include J7/M7325 Magnetic Metallic, N1/M7291 Blue Jeans and AZ/M7446A Star White.
How do I find the paint code on a classic Ford with no sticker?
Pre-1970 Fords use a riveted metal Warranty Plate on the rear face of the driver's door rather than a sticker. The paint code is a single letter or digit on the second line, following the body style code. If the plate is missing, Marti Auto Works holds an exclusive licence to Ford's production database and will supply the original paint code by VIN for 1967–2020 vehicles.
Are Star White and Rapid Red harder to match than other Ford colours?
Yes. Both are tri-coats — AZ Star White Metallic Tri-Coat and D4 Rapid Red Metallic Tinted Clearcoat use a base coat, a translucent mid-coat and a clear coat rather than one colour layer. The code alone will not produce a match unless the paint is supplied as a three-stage kit. Mid-coat thickness changes the final shade, so anything beyond a stone chip belongs with a body shop.
The door label is missing or unreadable — what now?
Ford will issue a replacement Safety Compliance Certification Label; the request goes through Ford customer service or a dealer using your VIN. A dealer can also read the original paint code from the build record tied to that VIN. Check the radiator support and under the hood first. Be aware that a replaced door carries the donor vehicle's label, so the code on it may not be your car's.
Which field do people confuse with the Ford paint code?
INT TR, the interior trim code, is the usual mistake because it sits in the same column of boxes as EXT PNT and uses similar short alphanumeric codes. The other fields on the label are WB (wheelbase), TR (transmission), AXLE and DSO. Only the characters to the right of EXT PNT are the exterior paint code — everything else describes the build, not the colour.