Volkswagen Paint Code: Where to Find It and How to Read It
The exact label to look for on a Volkswagen, how the code is printed, what people mistake it for, and 12 verified Volkswagen colour codes.
NHTSA vPIC has no colour field, so no VIN decoder returns one. The label on the vehicle is the reliable route.
Volkswagen prints the paint code on the vehicle data sticker in the trunk, most often on the spare wheel well floor under the cargo mat, and otherwise on the trunk lid underside, the rear side trim, or the cargo floor board. A second copy is pasted in the service booklet. The code is four characters beginning with L, such as LC9X. A 17-character VIN does not contain it.
Where is the paint code on a Volkswagen?
- Trunk spare wheel well. Lift the cargo mat and floor board and look at the metal floor of the spare wheel well for a white paper vehicle data sticker (Fahrzeugdatenträger) carrying the VIN, a type number and a block of three-character option codes. PaintScratch and AutomotiveTouchup both put this first for Volkswagen. It is the standard position on Golf, Jetta, Passat, Beetle and Tiguan from roughly the mid-1990s through the late 2010s.
- Elsewhere inside the trunk. The same sticker also turns up on the underside of the trunk deck lid, on the rear side trim panel, or on the underside of the cargo floor board. Partify (a VW and Audi parts retailer) and AutomotiveTouchup independently list this same set of trunk positions. On recent models with no spare wheel, including the ID.4 and other EVs, the well is gone and the sticker sits on the side trim or under the floor board instead.
- Service and maintenance booklet. Volkswagen prints the data sticker twice and pastes one half inside the service and maintenance booklet, usually on or behind the front cover. PaintScratch tells owners to check "the inside cover of your service book," and VW owner forums describe the sticker as split between the boot floor and the first page of the service schedule. On many newer cars this is the copy that still exists, because the in-car sticker is a paper tag that peels off.
- Driver's door jamb (usually not there). Do not expect the code here. The label in a Volkswagen driver's door jamb is the certification and tire-pressure label: VIN, gross weight ratings, tire sizes and pressures. PaintScratch states the VW code is on a paper tag around the spare tire area and specifically "not on a metal plate in the driver door jamb." Generic paint-code guides that send you to the door jamb are copying the Toyota and Honda pattern, which Volkswagen does not follow.
How to read the Volkswagen paint code
Four characters: the letter L (for Lack, German for paint) followed by three letters or digits — LC9X, LA7W, LD7X, L0K1. Refinish catalogs and many stickers print a two-character Volkswagen colour code after a slash: LC9X/2T, LA7W/8E, LD7X/2R, LC9A/0Q. Both halves name the same paint; the second is not the interior code. On newer cars, including the ID.4, the colour may appear only as that two-character code doubled into four — 2T2T for Deep Black Pearl. Ignore the three-letter engine code (BKD, CBEA), the separate two-character interior trim code, and the long block of three-character PR option codes on the same sticker. Older Volkswagens use shorter codes such as L041 (Black) or L90D (Pastel White).
- Open the trunk or hatch and lift out the cargo mat and the floor board covering the spare wheel well.
- Look on the metal floor of the spare wheel well for a white paper sticker printed with the VIN, a type number and a dense block of three-character codes. That is the vehicle data sticker.
- If it is not there, check the underside of the trunk lid, the rear side trim panels, and the underside of the cargo floor board. On cars with no spare wheel the sticker is usually on the side trim.
- If the sticker in the car is missing or unreadable, open the service and maintenance booklet — Volkswagen pastes a second copy of the same sticker inside it.
- Read the four-character code that starts with L on the paint line, and write down any two-character code printed after a slash. If the code appears as a doubled pair such as 2T2T, record all four characters.
- Verify before you buy paint: give the code and the VIN to a VW dealer parts counter or a refinish supplier and confirm the colour name they return matches the car — then check a sprayed test card against the panel in daylight.
Common Volkswagen paint codes
| Code | Volkswagen colour name | Where it appears |
|---|---|---|
| LC9X | Deep Black Pearl | Also written LC9X/2T, and 2T2T on newer stickers. Volkswagen's near-universal black across Golf, GTI, Jetta, Passat, Tiguan and Atlas from the mid-2000s to today. |
| LC9A | Pure White | Solid, non-metallic white on recent models; often written LC9A/0Q. |
| LB9A | Candy White | The earlier solid white, on Golfs, Jettas, Cabrios and Passats from the mid-1990s into the 2010s. Written LB9A/B4. |
| LA7W | Reflex Silver Metallic | Also LA7W/8E. One of VW's longest-running silvers, in use since around 2000. |
| LD7X | Platinum Gray Metallic | Also LD7X/2R. Common on Mk6 and Mk7 Golf, Jetta and Passat. |
| L0K1 | Oryx White Pearl | A three-stage tri-coat, also catalogued as Opal White or Onyx White Pearl and written L0K1/0R. Appears on Arteon, Atlas, Golf R and GTI. |
| LY3D | Tornado Red | Solid red spanning the Mk3 through Mk7 Golf and GTI era. Also LY3D/G2. |
| LR7H | Indium Gray Metallic | Also LR7H/X3. A current-generation grey. |
| LB7S | Pyrite Silver Metallic | Also LB7S/K2. Listed by German-language catalogs as Pyrit Silber Metallic. |
| LC3J | Kings Red Metallic | Sold by refinish suppliers as a three-stage tri-coat. Also LC3J/P8. |
| LD5K | Lapiz Blue Metallic | Also LD5K/L9. Best known as the Golf R blue. |
| L0G3 | Aurora Red Chroma | A tri-coat red, also written L0G3/6L. |
This list is not every colour Volkswagen 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 paint. Decoding a 2019 Jetta VIN through NHTSA's vPIC API returns 140 fields — make, model, plant city, engine, trim, base price — and not one of them is colour or paint. Any service advertising a paint code "by VIN" is either querying a manufacturer build record behind the scenes or guessing from the model and year. Free VIN Lookup does not return paint codes from a VIN.
- PaintScratch states that Volkswagen codes are "around the spare tire area, printed on a paper color id tag" and explicitly "not on a metal plate in the driver door jamb" — the single detail most generic location guides get wrong for this make.
- Partify, a Volkswagen and Audi parts retailer, and AutomotiveTouchup independently list the same set of trunk positions: under the trunk deck lid, inside the rear compartment, under the mat, or on the spare tire wheel well. Neither mentions the door jamb.
- The two-character code after the slash is Volkswagen's own colour code for the same paint, not the interior trim code. PaintScratch's Platinum Gray page notes that LD7X and 2R both refer to the same colour.
- Automated "paint code directory" sites are unreliable and should not be trusted for a code. One such directory assigns LB5J to six different colour names across six models and calls LB7R "Kings Red," while three refinish catalogs that actually mix paint — Specialist Paints, Auto Color Online and Spectral Paints — all list LB7R as Manganese Grey.
Volkswagen and refinish sources
Open the underlying public source and verify that its scope matches the question you are asking.
- Volkswagen Paint Code Location and How to Read ItPaintScratch
- How to Find Volkswagen Paint CodesAutomotiveTouchup
- How to Find Your Audi or Volkswagen Paint CodePartify
- vPIC VIN Decoder API (returns no colour or paint field)NHTSA
- Volkswagen refinish colour catalog (paint code to colour name)Custom Paints Inc / Specialist Paints USA
Volkswagen paint code questions
Can I get my Volkswagen paint code from the VIN?
No. The 17-character VIN carries no colour information. Run a VW VIN through NHTSA's free vPIC decoder and it returns about 140 fields — make, model, plant, engine, trim, base price — with no colour or paint field among them. Sites that promise a paint code from a VIN are pulling a manufacturer build record or guessing from the model. Read the label on the car instead.
Where exactly is the paint code on a VW Golf, Jetta or Tiguan?
In the trunk, on the vehicle data sticker. Open the hatch, lift the cargo mat and the floor board, and look at the floor of the spare wheel well for a white paper sticker covered in codes. If it is not there, check the underside of the trunk lid and the rear side trim panels. It is not in the driver's door jamb on a Volkswagen.
My Volkswagen has no spare tire. Where is the sticker?
On the trunk side trim or under the cargo floor board. Recent models, including the ID.4 and other EVs, ship with a tire kit instead of a spare, so there is no wheel well to hold the sticker. Lift the load floor and check the metal beneath it, then the side trim panels and the underside of the trunk lid. The service booklet copy is the reliable backup.
What is the difference between LC9X and 2T?
They name the same paint. LC9X is Volkswagen's four-character paint number and 2T is the two-character colour code used in the vehicle order; suppliers list the pair as LC9X/2T. Neither one is the interior trim code, which is a separate field on the same sticker. If your sticker shows only one of the two, that is enough — a refinish supplier can match either.
Does Volkswagen print two codes for a two-tone car?
Volkswagen prints one paint code for the body, but the four-character colour code is built from two two-character halves. On a single-colour car the halves match: Deep Black Pearl prints as 2T2T, Onyx White Pearl as 0R0R. When a car was built with a contrasting roof, the halves cover body and roof separately. Give your shop all four characters, not just the first two.
How do I touch up a pearl or tri-coat Volkswagen colour?
Order it as a three-stage system, not a single bottle. Oryx White Pearl (L0K1), Kings Red (LC3J) and Aurora Red Chroma (L0G3) get their depth from a semi-translucent mica midcoat between the base and the clear. Volkswagen still prints one code for these, so the code alone will not tell you it is a tri-coat. Spray a test card first — too much midcoat reads dark, too little reads flat.
The sticker in my trunk is missing. What now?
Check the service and maintenance booklet first. Volkswagen prints the data sticker twice and pastes one half inside the booklet, so the copy in the paperwork often survives after the paper tag in the trunk has peeled off. If both are gone, a VW dealer parts counter can look up the factory colour from your VIN against the build record. That is a dealer lookup, not a VIN decode.
Is the Volkswagen paint code on the driver's door jamb?
Almost never. The label in a Volkswagen door jamb is the certification and tire-pressure label: VIN, gross weight ratings, tire sizes and inflation pressures. PaintScratch says outright that VW codes are on a paper tag near the spare tire and not on a metal plate in the door jamb. Guides that send you there are applying the Toyota and Honda layout to the wrong make.