Decode your Bennington boat's Hull Identification Number (HIN) for free. Enter the 12-character HIN found on the starboard side of the transom below and click "Decode HIN":
Bennington is the best-selling pontoon brand in North America, building in Elkhart, Indiana since 1997. Every Bennington pontoon carries the manufacturer code ETW. The Coast Guard record for that code now lists Polaris Industries, which acquired Bennington Marine in 2018 — so a decode returning “Polaris” on a Bennington hull is correct, not an error.
| Primary MIC Code | ETW |
| Codes on Record | 1 |
| Parent Company | Polaris Inc. |
| Vessel Types | Pontoon Boats · Tritoons · L Series · S Series · R Series |
| Website | www.benningtonmarine.com |
| USCG Recalls on Record | 3 |
| Recall # | MIC | Model(s) | Model Year | Units | Example HIN | Opened | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 07R2594S | ETW | AZ 240 | 2007 | 55 | ETW92867K708 | 12/30/2007 | ✔ Closed |
| 070020T | ETW | PONTOON & DECK BOATS | 2007 | 4105 | — | 05/29/2007 | ✔ Closed |
| 060039T | ETW | PONTOON - I SERIES | 2006 | 773 | — | 06/13/2006 | ✔ Closed |
The U.S. Coast Guard has assigned the following manufacturer code to Bennington and its related entities. If your HIN begins with one of these three characters, the hull was built under the Bennington umbrella. Every entry below was checked against the Coast Guard's live manufacturer database.
| MIC Code | Registered Company | Address on Record |
|---|---|---|
| ETW | POLARIS IND (Bennington Marine) | 2805 Decio Drive, Elkhart, IN |
Every hull built for the US market since 1972 carries a 12-character Hull Identification Number. It is not random — each block of characters means something specific:
| Characters | What it means |
|---|---|
| 1–3 | Manufacturer code (MIC) — identifies Bennington as the builder |
| 4–8 | Hull serial number, assigned by the manufacturer |
| 9 | Month of manufacture, as a letter: A = January through L = December |
| 10 | Last digit of the year the hull was actually built |
| 11–12 | Model year — often one year ahead of the build year |
That last point catches people out: a boat built in November is very commonly sold as the following year's model, so the build year and the model year on the same HIN legitimately differ. For the full character-by-character walkthrough, see how to read a boat HIN.
Enter the hull number from your transom and get the model year, build date, manufacturer record and recall status in one lookup — free, no account needed.
Run a free HIN checkThe HIN is stamped or plated on the starboard (right) side of the transom, within two inches of the top of the transom, gunwale or hull-deck joint — that position is federally required, so it is the same on every Bennington. A second, identical HIN is hidden somewhere unexposed on the hull to defeat tampering. If the transom number is missing, damaged or looks altered, treat that as a serious warning sign. See where the HIN is located on a boat for photos of the usual spots and what a tampered plate looks like.
Building a shortlist rather than checking one boat? These brand pages work the same way: Sea Ray, Yamaha, Bayliner, Boston Whaler, Bennington and Rinker. Or start from the general hull ID lookup if the builder is unknown.