What Is a Car Build Sheet (and How to Get Yours by VIN)
A build sheet is the factory's official record of every option your car was ordered with — and you can pull yours from just the VIN.
What a build sheet actually is
When your car was assembled, the factory recorded the exact specification it was built to: the engine and gearbox, the wheels, the interior trim, every package, and every individual option — each stored as a short factory option code. That record is the build sheet. It's tied permanently to your car's 17-character VIN, so it never changes even when the car is resold.
A build sheet is more detailed than a brochure or a used-car listing. It doesn't tell you what the model could have; it tells you what your specific car left the line with.
Build sheet, window sticker, equipment list — what's the difference?
They're largely the same document under different names:
- Build sheet — the common term for the factory build record.
- Window sticker — the US name, originally the printed sticker on a new car's window.
- Equipment list (Norwegian: utstyrsliste) — the European term for the same list of fitted options.
Whatever it's called, it answers one question: what options does my car actually have?
How to get your build sheet by VIN
BuildVIN reads your VIN, looks up the official factory data, and emails you a clean, branded equipment list as two PDFs — usually within minutes. It works across major makes including Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Land Rover and Bentley.