MINI Paint Code: Where to Find It and How to Read It
The exact label to look for on a MINI, how the code is printed, what people mistake it for, and 12 verified MINI colour codes.
NHTSA vPIC has no colour field, so no VIN decoder returns one. The label on the vehicle is the reliable route.
On BMW-era MINIs (2001 on), the paint code is on a small barcoded sticker under the bonnet — on a front strut tower, the radiator support, or the firewall. Suppliers disagree on which side, so check both. Newer cars may carry it in a door jamb instead. The code sits beside the label's Farbe / Code field and is three characters: 851, B15, C6K.
Where is the paint code on a MINI?
- Under-hood strut tower. A small barcoded sticker with dense small print on a front suspension strut tower, under the bonnet. The most-cited spot for BMW-era MINIs (R50 from 2001 in Europe, 2002 in the US, through the F- and U-series). Sources disagree on the side: AutomotiveTouchup's MINI brand page says passenger side, while its per-model-year pages say "normally the driver side" — but that identical sentence appears unchanged on its 1999 Rover Mini page and its 2024 Countryman page, so it is boilerplate rather than per-year evidence. Check both towers.
- Radiator support / slam panel. The metal crossmember across the front of the engine bay, visible as soon as the bonnet is open. PaintScratch names the radiator support as one of the common MINI spots, alongside the firewall. Single-source, and no source ties it to a specific year span, so treat it as an alternative to the strut tower rather than a generation change.
- Firewall (bulkhead). The wall separating the engine bay from the cabin, at the back of the bay. AutomotiveTouchup's MINI pages say the code is "usually under the hood, either on the firewall or the strut tower on the passenger side"; PaintScratch independently names the firewall too. Both list it as an alternative on any BMW-era MINI, not as a year-specific relocation.
- Door jamb / B-pillar, glovebox or boot. Secondary locations, cited more often for newer cars. Chipex directs MINI owners to the passenger-side door jamb; FixyPaint gives the driver-side B-pillar first, then the glovebox and the boot area near the spare wheel; PaintScratch lists the door jamb and inside the trunk. No source documents a clean model-year cutover from engine bay to door jamb, so open the bonnet first whatever the year.
How to read the MINI paint code
Three characters. Either three digits (668 Jet Black, 850 Pepper White, 851 Chili Red, 899 Aspen White, 900 Pure Silver) or a letter plus two characters (A62, A94, B11, B15, C19, C6K). FixyPaint's MINI guide shows it printed next to a field marked "Farbe / Code" — Farbe being German for colour — usually with the manufacturer's colour name beside it. Ignore the 17-character VIN, the type/model code and the interior trim code; none of those describe your bodywork. Prefixed forms you meet in online catalogues (U668, WB11, WC6K, YC74, C89) are refinish-database variants rather than the label form suppliers illustrate — but if your own label genuinely shows something longer, quote it in full to your paint supplier rather than trimming it.
- Open the bonnet and check both front strut towers for a small white or silver sticker carrying barcodes and dense small print.
- If it is not on a tower, check the radiator support across the front of the bay, then the firewall at the back — MINI suppliers name all three positions.
- Still nothing: check the driver- and passenger-side door jambs and B-pillars, the glovebox, and the boot floor near the spare wheel.
- On the label, find the field marked Farbe / Code, or the printed colour name, and read the three characters alongside it — for example 851 or B15.
- Ignore the 17-character VIN, the type code and the interior trim code on the same label; none of them describe your bodywork.
- Verify by matching those three characters back to a colour name in a MINI paint catalogue — 851 should return as Chili Red / Solar Red. If the name does not match your car, you have read the wrong field; failing that, give a MINI dealer your VIN and ask them to pull the factory colour from the build record.
Common MINI paint codes
| Code | MINI colour name | Where it appears |
|---|---|---|
| 851 | Chili Red | Also catalogued as Solar Red. The longest-running MINI code — verified on AutomotiveTouchup lists for 2005, 2010, 2017, 2022 and the 2024 Countryman. Confirmed independently by Chipex. |
| 850 | Pepper White | Also catalogued as Old English White and cross-referenced to Rover code NNX. Verified on AutomotiveTouchup lists for 2005, 2010, 2017 and 2022. Confirmed independently by Chipex. |
| 668 | Jet Black | A BMW Group code shared with BMW, not unique to MINI; later lists name it Black or Jet Black II. Verified on 2005, 2010, 2012 and 2024 lists. Distinct from A94 Midnight Black. |
| 899 | Aspen White | Cross-listed by AutomotiveTouchup against the Rover-era codes NHH and NUH. Verified on the 2005, 2012, 2022 and 2024 Countryman lists. One publisher only. |
| 900 | Pure Silver Metallic | Verified on the 2005 and 2010 lists and absent from every 2017-and-later list checked, so treat it as an early BMW-era colour rather than a current one. One publisher only. |
| A67 | British Racing Green Metallic | On AutomotiveTouchup's 2010 list; confirmed independently by Chipex. MINI catalogues three other British Racing Greens — 895, B22 (BRG II) and C3B (BRG 4), all verified — so order by code, never by the name. |
| B11 | Absolute Black Metallic | Verified on the 2012 Countryman and 2017 Cooper lists. Confirmed independently by Chipex, which also shows the refinish-database variant WB11. |
| C6K | Blazing Blue Metallic | On the 2024 Countryman list. Confirmed independently by Chipex, which also names it Le Castallet Blau and shows the variants C89 and WC6K. |
| A62 | White Silver Metallic | Verified on the 2010, 2017, 2022 and 2024 lists, but all from a single publisher. Check it against your own label before ordering. |
| A94 | Midnight Black Metallic | Verified on the 2010, 2017 and 2022 lists. A different colour from 668 Jet Black, and also distinct from the 2024 code 475 / C4R catalogued as Midnight Black II — check which one your label actually shows. |
| B15 | Light White | Also catalogued as Luxury White and Quite White. Verified on the 2012, 2017, 2022 and 2024 Countryman lists. One publisher only. |
| A96 | Nanuq White Pearl | Also listed as C6A and as Nanuq White Metallic. A recent colour, verified on the 2022 Cooper and 2024 Countryman lists. One publisher only. |
This list is not every colour MINI has sold. Always confirm against the label on your own vehicle before ordering paint.
What to know before you order paint
- A MINI VIN does not encode the paint code. Decoding a 2017 MINI VIN through NHTSA's free vPIC API returns engine, body and restraint fields but no exterior colour or paint field of any kind. Only a MINI dealer or a BMW Group parts system can retrieve the factory colour from the build record attached to your VIN, and that is a lookup against records rather than decoding the number itself.
- The side of the car is genuinely disputed between suppliers, not settled. AutomotiveTouchup's MINI brand page says "either on the firewall or the strut tower on the passenger side", while its own per-model-year pages say "normally the driver side"; Chipex sends owners to the passenger-side door jamb and FixyPaint to the driver-side B-pillar. No manufacturer source resolves it, so check both sides.
- Treat AutomotiveTouchup's model-year groupings as catalogue bins rather than manufacturer records. Its 1999 Mini page lists BMW-era codes including 851 Chili Red and 900 Pure Silver, and repeats the identical "strut tower, normally the driver side" sentence used on its 2024 Countryman page — so neither the year ranges nor the location wording is verified generation by generation.
- This guide covers BMW-era MINIs only (R50 from 2001 in Europe and 2002 in the US, through the F- and U-series). Rover-era classic Minis carry a different identification plate and different colour codes; the NNX, NHH and NUH references that AutomotiveTouchup cross-lists against 850 and 899 are Rover codes, not BMW MINI label codes.
- Every code above was checked against a live supplier catalogue. Five of the twelve (851, 850, B11, C6K and A67) are confirmed by two independent suppliers, AutomotiveTouchup and Chipex; the remaining seven rest on AutomotiveTouchup alone. paintref.com and TouchUpDirect both refused automated access, so no third database could be consulted.
MINI and refinish sources
Open the underlying public source and verify that its scope matches the question you are asking.
MINI paint code questions
Where is the paint code on a MINI Cooper?
Under the bonnet, on a small barcoded sticker. Check both front strut towers first, then the radiator support across the front of the engine bay, then the firewall at the back — AutomotiveTouchup and PaintScratch between them name all three. If the engine bay turns up nothing, look in the door jambs and B-pillars, the glovebox, or the boot near the spare wheel.
Is the MINI paint code on the driver side or the passenger side?
Suppliers disagree, so check both. AutomotiveTouchup's MINI brand page says the passenger-side strut tower or firewall, while its own model-year pages say the strut tower is "normally the driver side". Chipex points owners to the passenger-side door jamb and FixyPaint to the driver-side B-pillar. No manufacturer source settles it, and looking at both takes seconds.
Can I get my MINI paint code from the VIN?
Not from a free decoder. The 17-character VIN does not encode paint, and NHTSA's public vPIC decoder returns engine, body and restraint data with no colour field at all. A MINI dealer or a BMW Group parts system can retrieve the factory colour from the build record attached to your VIN, but that is a records lookup, not decoding.
How many characters is a MINI paint code?
Three. Either three digits, like 851 Chili Red or 900 Pure Silver, or a letter followed by two characters, like B15 Light White or C6K Blazing Blue. FixyPaint's guide shows it printed beside a field marked Farbe / Code. Longer forms you meet online, such as U668, WB11 or WC6K, are refinish-database variants of the same colour.
Why does my MINI colour have more than one code?
Because refinish databases add prefixes and MINI renames colours between generations. Chipex lists Absolute Black as both B11 and WB11, and Blazing Blue as C6K, C89 and WC6K. British Racing Green exists as A67, 895, B22 and C3B across different years. Always order against the code printed on your own label rather than the colour name.
Do older classic Minis use the same paint codes?
No. Rover-era Minis built before the BMW relaunch carry a different identification plate and a different code system. The NNX, NHH and NUH references cross-listed against Pepper White and Aspen White are Rover codes, not BMW MINI label codes. Everything here about strut-tower stickers and three-character codes applies to R50-onward cars.
What if the sticker is missing or unreadable?
Painted-over, faded and replaced panels all lose the sticker. Work through the remaining spots first: the other strut tower, the radiator support, the firewall, both door jambs, the glovebox and the boot. If none survive, the service book or original invoice often records the colour, and a MINI dealer can pull it from the build record using your VIN.