Nhtsa Vin Decoder

Overview

The NHTSA VIN Decoder is an Apify actor that decodes Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) using the NHTSA vPIC API, a free public API provided by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. It extracts detailed vehicle specifications including make, model, year, engine configuration, body type, drive type, and manufacturing plant information for any valid VIN.

Features

• Bulk VIN decoding with support for hundreds of VINs in a single run
• Extracts comprehensive vehicle data including make, model, year, engine, transmission, and body class
• Identifies manufacturing plant location (city, state, country)
• Includes error codes and validation from NHTSA for each VIN
• Uses the official NHTSA vPIC API which is free and requires no authentication
• Rate-limited requests to respect the public API

Input Configuration

The actor accepts the following input parameters:

• vins - List of Vehicle Identification Numbers to decode. Defaults to sample Honda and Tesla VINs.
• maxResults - Maximum number of VINs to process. Defaults to 500.

Output Format

Each decoded VIN produces a dataset entry with:

• vin - The input VIN
• make - Vehicle manufacturer (e.g., HONDA, TESLA)
• model - Vehicle model (e.g., Accord, Model S)
• modelYear - Year of manufacture
• vehicleType - Type classification (PASSENGER CAR, TRUCK, etc.)
• bodyClass - Body style (Sedan, SUV, Hatchback, etc.)
• driveType - Drivetrain configuration (FWD, RWD, AWD)
• engineCylinders - Number of engine cylinders
• engineDisplacement - Engine size in liters
• fuelType - Primary fuel type
• plantCity, plantCountry, plantState - Manufacturing plant location
• dataSource - Always "NHTSA vPIC API"
• apiEndpoint - The exact API URL used for decoding

Use Cases

This actor is ideal for fleet managers needing to catalog vehicle specifications, auto dealers verifying vehicle details, insurance companies validating VIN data, automotive researchers building vehicle databases, and developers integrating VIN decoding into their applications. The bulk processing capability makes it efficient for large-scale VIN validation tasks.

Cost and Performance

The actor runs on minimal memory (256 MB) and processes VINs quickly through direct API calls. Billing is pay-per-event at $0.30 per 1,000 decoded VINs via Apify platform pricing, making it extremely cost-effective for both small and large batches.

Integrations

Export decoded VIN data using Apify integrations to Google Sheets, databases, webhooks, Zapier, or download as CSV/JSON. The structured output is ready for direct import into fleet management systems or vehicle databases.

Tips and Troubleshooting

• VINs must be 17 characters long for accurate decoding (pre-1981 VINs may be shorter)
• Check the errorCode field in results; code 0 means successful decode
• The NHTSA API is public and free but has rate limits; the actor includes built-in throttling
• Invalid VINs will still return results but with error messages in the errorText field