Mercedes-Benz Paint Code: Where to Find It and How to Read It

The exact label to look for on a Mercedes-Benz, how the code is printed, what people mistake it for, and 12 verified Mercedes-Benz colour codes.

By VIN Lookup Research DeskPublished 2026-08-27Reviewed 2026-08-27United States

The VIN does not carry itA 17-character VIN does not contain the paint code.

NHTSA vPIC has no colour field, so no VIN decoder returns one. The label on the vehicle is the reliable route.

Direct answer

On a Mercedes-Benz the paint code sits on the driver's-side door jamb label — the barcoded vehicle data tag that also carries the VIN — on most cars from the mid-1990s onward. Cars built from the early 1970s to about 2000 instead carry an embossed VIN plate on the radiator core support. The code is three numerals, sometimes printed with a DB prefix or a trailing letter to ignore.

Where is the paint code on a Mercedes-Benz?

Driver-side door jamb. On the vehicle data label visible with the driver's door open — the tag that also carries the VIN and a barcode. PaintScratch calls it the Color ID Tag and says recent models carry the code here, but is explicit that it "may be on the pillar itself, the door edge, or near the latch" and that it sometimes appears in the passenger-side jamb instead. ExpressPaint and AutomotiveTouchup both list the driver's door jamb as location #1. Treat "B-pillar" as the likeliest panel, not the only one: no source restricts it to the B-pillar, so check the pillar, the door shut face and the latch area.
Radiator core support, under the hood. On the embossed VIN/data plate on top of the front core support just forward of the radiator. MercedesSource gives this for the early 1970s onward and names R107, W108, W109, W113, W114, W115, W116, W123, W124, W126 and W201 — and its interior-code article shows the same plate still in use on a 2000 E430, adding W202, W210, W140 and R129. So the plate outlasts the mid-1990s cut-off. Position varies: bottom left on a W123 (932 H), second up from bottom left on a W126 (735 G). ExpressPaint lists the radiator support in the middle and on either side.
Elsewhere in the engine bay. Sources disagree on which panel. AutomotiveTouchup says the code is "adhered to the underside of the hood"; ExpressPaint lists "inside engine bay area by firewall (middle, driver's side)"; PaintScratch lists both the back firewall and the driver's-side strut tower, noting a strut-tower sticker is often unreadable under dirt or oil. Nothing found ties any of these to a specific chassis or year, and no source supports an inner-fender location. Check the hood underside first, then the firewall, then the strut towers.
Boot floor or spare-wheel well. ExpressPaint lists a "back compartment panel" under "other places to find", and PaintScratch lists both "Trunk or Rear Storage" (sides, seat backs, door or floor) and "Inside the Spare Tire Area". It is a genuine fallback, but a weak one: PaintScratch warns that codes here "are often on a paper sticker which can fall off or become damaged", so it is less durable than the door-jamb label, not more. Not present on every model or year.

How to read the Mercedes-Benz paint code

Three numerals with no field label in front of them — nothing on the tag spells out "paint". On the modern colour ID tag PaintScratch says the paint code is the fourth group of numbers along the top of the label. On the older core-support plate MercedesSource says two three-digit numbers stack on the left: the upper one is upholstery, the lower one is paint (218 over 744). Vehicles built up to roughly 2003 often print the code with a DB prefix (DB744, DB-147); ExpressPaint states the DB is irrelevant — DB040 and 040 are the same paint. Ignore any single trailing letter, on old plates and new tags alike (932 H, 735 G, and ExpressPaint's own sample tag showing 650 with a "C"). Ignore the four- and five-digit refinish variants too: 9744, 5890, 7992.

Open the driver's door and find the vehicle data label on the B-pillar, the door shut face or near the latch — the tag carrying the VIN and a barcode. Check the passenger side too if the driver's side is bare.
On that label, read the top row: the paint code is the fourth group of numbers along it, a bare three-digit number with no word in front of it.
If the car predates the door label, open the hood and read the embossed plate on the front core support ahead of the radiator. Two three-digit numbers stack on the left — the paint code is the lower one, the upholstery code sits above it.
If both come up empty, check the underside of the hood, the firewall panel and the strut towers, then lift the boot floor and look in the spare-wheel well.
Strip the packaging off what you found: drop any DB prefix, drop any single trailing letter (the C, G or H), and ignore four- or five-digit catalogue forms such as 9744 or 5890.
Verify the three digits against a refinish catalogue and check the colour name matches the car in daylight. If the label is painted over or missing, have a dealer pull the build data card using the VIN rather than guessing.

Common Mercedes-Benz paint codes

Code	Mercedes-Benz colour name	Where it appears
040	Black	Solid, non-metallic black. In the factory code list from 01.01.1963 (MB Medic's reproduction of the table). Catalogued DB040 / 040 / 9040. Not the same paint as 197.
197	Obsidian Black Metallic	In the factory list from 01.01.1996. ExpressPaint catalogues it DB197 / 197 / 9197; PaintScratch lists 197/9197.
149	Polar White	In the factory list from 01.01.1992 and still on 2020s cars. Catalogued DB149 / 149 / 9149.
744	Brilliant Silver Metallic	Brillantsilber. In the factory list from 01.01.1991. Catalogued DB744 / 744 / 9744. The silver most often confused with 775.
775	Iridium Silver Metallic	Iridiumsilber. ExpressPaint gives 775/9775; PaintScratch prints 9755 for the same colour, which looks like a transposition on their side. Overlaps model years with 744.
792	Palladium Silver Metallic	Palladiumsilber, 792/9792. A third silver alongside 744 and 775 on late-2000s and 2010s cars.
650	Cirrus White	Sold under two names: ExpressPaint catalogues it "Calcitweiss/Cirrus White 650/9650", PaintScratch as Calcite White 650/9650. Both refer to the same paint.
992	Selenite Grey	ExpressPaint lists "Selenitgrau Pearl 992/7992"; PaintScratch, Selenite Gray Metallic. Do not confuse with 297, Selenitgrau Magno.
890	Cavansite Blue	ExpressPaint's entry reads "Cavansitblau/Cavansite/Lunar Blue Pearl 890/5890", so Lunar Blue is the same code. Confirmed blue in both catalogues — any list calling 890 a green is wrong.
799	designo Diamond White	A tri-coat. ExpressPaint lists "Designo Mystic/Diamond White S038/048/799/9799 (3ct)"; PaintScratch sells it as Diamond White Tricoat 799/9799.
885	Moonlight White Metallic	ExpressPaint catalogues "Moonlight White Metallic 885/9885 (3ct)" — three-coat, so ground coat plus midcoat plus clear.
735	Astral Silver Metallic	In the factory list 01.01.1972 to 31.12.1990. Catalogued DB-735 / 735 / 9735. This is the code MercedesSource photographs on a W126 core-support plate, printed as 735 G.

This list is not every colour Mercedes-Benz has sold. Always confirm against the label on your own vehicle before ordering paint.

What to know before you order paint

The VIN does not carry the paint code. PaintScratch's Mercedes-Benz colour-code page answers the question directly: "No. The VIN does not contain your paint color code." A dealer can pull the build data card using the VIN and that card lists the colour, but the seventeen characters themselves encode nothing about paint and no decoder can derive it.
MB Medic's paint-code page tells readers to "confirm the code with the VIN or vehicle data card before ordering paint". Read that as the dealer data-card lookup, not as VIN decoding — it is the one place among these sources where the wording could be mistaken for the VIN yielding a colour.
The under-hood core-support plate did not stop in the mid-1990s. MercedesSource's interior-code article shows the plate on a 2000 E430 and extends the chassis list to W202, W210, W140 and R129, so door-jamb and core-support overlap for roughly a decade rather than swapping over cleanly.
A trailing letter is not exclusive to old plates. ExpressPaint's Mercedes label sample shows the code as 650 with the instruction to ignore the "C", alongside MercedesSource's older 932 H and 735 G. The letter is never part of the colour on either generation of label.
The upholstery code is the classic mis-read because it is also three digits. MercedesSource notes that on the core-support plate the two stack on the left with the interior code on top and the paint code below — its worked example is 218 over 744.

Evidence

Mercedes-Benz and refinish sources

Open the underlying public source and verify that its scope matches the question you are asking.

Quick answers

Mercedes-Benz paint code questions

Where is the paint code on a Mercedes-Benz?

On the vehicle data label in the driver's door jamb for most cars from the mid-1990s onward — it may sit on the B-pillar, on the door shut face, or near the latch, and PaintScratch notes it sometimes appears on the passenger side instead. On earlier cars, look for the embossed plate on the radiator core support under the hood, forward of the radiator.

Can I get my Mercedes paint code from the VIN?

No. PaintScratch states plainly that a Mercedes-Benz VIN does not contain the paint colour code. The seventeen characters encode the plant, the model and a check digit, not the colour. A dealer can look up your car's build data card using the VIN, and that card lists the paint code — but no VIN decoder derives it. Read the code off the car.

My Mercedes has no sticker in the door jamb. Where else should I look?

Try the front core support plate under the hood first — MercedesSource shows it on cars from the early 1970s right through a 2000 E430. Then check the underside of the hood, which AutomotiveTouchup names, the firewall panel and strut towers, which ExpressPaint and PaintScratch list, and last the boot floor and spare-wheel well.

What does the letter after the three digits mean?

It is not part of the colour. MercedesSource shows a W123 plate reading 932 H and a W126 plate reading 735 G — the paints are 932 and 735. ExpressPaint's modern label sample shows 650 with a C and tells readers to ignore it, so the trailing letter appears on newer tags too, not only on old under-hood plates.

Why do catalogues show DB744 or 9744 instead of 744?

They are the same colour dressed for different systems. ExpressPaint says the DB prefix is irrelevant — DB040 and 040 are the same paint — and that cars built up to about 2003 print the code with DB on the label itself. Numbers like 9744, 5890 and 7992 are refinish catalogue variants. The three digits are the constant across all of them.

How do I avoid grabbing the upholstery code by mistake?

Both are three digits, which is why they get swapped. On the older core-support plate MercedesSource says the two numbers stack on the left with the interior code on top and the paint code below — its example is 218 over 744. On the modern colour ID tag, PaintScratch says the paint code is the fourth group of numbers along the top row.

Is 040 the same black as 197?

No. 040 is the solid, non-metallic black that has been in the Mercedes code list since 1963, according to the factory table MB Medic reproduces. 197 is Obsidian Black Metallic, added in 1996, and contains metallic flake. The two look close in flat daylight and obviously different in direct light, so ordering 040 for a 197 car leaves a visible patch.