VIN Decoder: Bulk NHTSA VIN Lookup for Make, Model, Year and Specs

Decode vehicle identification numbers (VINs) in bulk with the free NHTSA vPIC API (Product Information Catalog), run by the U.S. Department of Transportation. For each VIN you get the make, model, model year, trim and series, plus:

• vehicle type and body class, and doors
• engine: cylinders, litres and horsepower
• fuel type, and the EV or hybrid level
• drive type, transmission, and GVWR class
• the plant where it was built
• every other non-empty vPIC value for that VIN in a specs object. Examples are airbag locations, engine model and configuration, valve train, driver-assistance systems, battery, wheelbase and axles, when NHTSA has them. How many depends on the vehicle: in our tests of 8 VINs and VIN patterns, specCount was between 5 and 15.

Unofficial. This Actor is not affiliated with or endorsed by NHTSA.

Licence and privacy

• Data licence. NHTSA's terms of use say: "Information presented on this web site is considered public information and may be distributed or copied."
• Your VINs go to NHTSA. NHTSA's terms also say that information submitted to the site becomes the property of NHTSA/DOT.
• No owner data. The output describes the vehicle model. It never contains owner names, addresses, plates or vehicle history.
• A full VIN can count as personal data in some places (for example under GDPR) when it can be linked to an owner. Only submit VINs you are allowed to process.
• The default input is safe. The sample input uses VIN patterns whose serial number is cut off or replaced by *, so they never identify a single vehicle.

Input: VINs and VIN patterns

Field	Default	Meaning
vins	6 sample VIN patterns	One VIN per line. Accepts full 17-character VINs, or partial patterns with * for unknown positions (8 to 17 characters). Add ,YEAR to give a model-year hint, for example 5UXWX7C5*BA,2011. Spaces and dashes are removed. Duplicates are decoded once. Entries with I, O or Q, or with other invalid characters, are rejected and listed in RUN_SUMMARY; they are not charged.
modelYear	none	Model-year hint for every VIN that has no ,YEAR of its own.
skipUndecoded	false	When on, VINs that NHTSA cannot decode (no make) are not saved and not charged.
includeSpecs	true	Adds the specs object.
maxItems	1000 (max 10,000)	Maximum number of VINs to decode per run. The input list itself can hold up to 20,000 entries; entries beyond maxItems are counted in RUN_SUMMARY and not decoded or charged.

With empty input {}, the Actor decodes 6 sample VIN patterns (BMW, Tesla, Honda, Ford, Toyota and Volkswagen) for $0.006.

Output: decoded VIN fields

There is one dataset item per VIN. The fields are:

• vin and isFullVin.
• modelYearHint.
• decodeStatus. This is clean (NHTSA error code 0), partial (decoded with warnings, such as an incomplete VIN or a wrong check digit) or failed (no make found).
• errorCodes, errorText, additionalErrorText, suggestedVin and possibleValues.
• make, makeId, model, modelId, modelYear, trim and series.
• vehicleType, bodyClass and doors.
• manufacturer, manufacturerId, plantCountry, plantState and plantCity.
• engineCylinders, displacementL and engineHp.
• fuelTypePrimary, fuelTypeSecondary, electrificationLevel and batteryKwh.
• driveType, transmissionStyle, transmissionSpeeds and gvwrClass.
• specs and specCount.
• source, licenceNote and scrapedAt.

Empty values and vPIC's "Not Applicable" are returned as null, or left out of specs.

This is a real item from a test run of the default input on 30 October 2026, for the VIN pattern 1HGCM82633A (the serial number is cut off, hence error 6, "Incomplete VIN"):

{
  "vin": "1HGCM82633A",
  "isFullVin": false,
  "modelYearHint": null,
  "decodeStatus": "partial",
  "errorCodes": [6],
  "errorText": "6 - Incomplete VIN",
  "additionalErrorText": null,
  "suggestedVin": null,
  "possibleValues": null,
  "make": "HONDA",
  "makeId": 474,
  "model": "Accord",
  "modelId": 1861,
  "modelYear": 2003,
  "trim": "EX-V6",
  "series": null,
  "vehicleType": "PASSENGER CAR",
  "bodyClass": "Coupe",
  "doors": 2,
  "manufacturer": "AMERICAN HONDA MOTOR CO., INC.",
  "manufacturerId": 988,
  "plantCountry": "UNITED STATES (USA)",
  "plantState": "OHIO",
  "plantCity": "MARYSVILLE",
  "engineCylinders": 6,
  "displacementL": 2.998832712,
  "engineHp": 240.0,
  "fuelTypePrimary": "Gasoline",
  "fuelTypeSecondary": null,
  "electrificationLevel": null,
  "batteryKwh": null,
  "driveType": null,
  "transmissionStyle": "Automatic",
  "transmissionSpeeds": 5,
  "gvwrClass": "Class 1C: 4,001 - 5,000 lb (1,814 - 2,268 kg)",
  "specs": {
    "AirBagLocCurtain": "1st and 2nd Rows",
    "AirBagLocFront": "1st Row (Driver and Passenger)",
    "AirBagLocSide": "1st Row (Driver and Passenger)",
    "DisplacementCC": "2998.832712",
    "DisplacementCI": "183",
    "EngineConfiguration": "V-Shaped",
    "EngineModel": "J30A4",
    "GVWR_to": "Class 1: 6,000 lb or less (2,722 kg or less)",
    "OtherRestraintSystemInfo": "Seat Belt (Rr center position)",
    "SeatBeltsAll": "Manual",
    "ValveTrainDesign": "Single Overhead Cam (SOHC)",
    "VehicleDescriptor": "1HGCM826*3A"
  },
  "specCount": 12,
  "source": "NHTSA vPIC DecodeVINValuesBatch",
  "licenceNote": "Decoded by the NHTSA vPIC API (U.S. DOT). NHTSA terms of use: \"Information presented on this web site is considered public information and may be distributed or copied.\" Unofficial; not affiliated with or endorsed by NHTSA.",
  "scrapedAt": "2026-10-31T01:33:24+00:00"
}

A run summary is saved to the key-value store as RUN_SUMMARY. It counts rejected entries, duplicates, entries over maxItems, status totals and requests.

Pricing

Pricing is pay per event: $0.001 per VIN in the dataset ($1 per 1,000 VINs), with no start fee and no other events.

• Rejected entries and duplicates are never charged.
• VINs that NHTSA could not decode (decodeStatus: "failed") are saved and charged, unless skipUndecoded is on. Then they are neither saved nor charged.
• The run stops cleanly at your maximum cost per run.

Example costs:

• {}: $0.006.
• 1,000 VINs: $1.00.
• 10,000 VINs (one run's maximum): $10.00.

Use it from n8n, Make or Zapier

Run the Actor through the Apify API, using Apify's Make, Zapier or n8n integrations or a plain HTTP request to the Apify API. Pass {"vins": [...]} and read the dataset items. For example, decode the VINs from a new spreadsheet row or inventory feed, and write make, model, year and trim back. The Apify Console's API tab for this Actor shows the exact endpoint URLs.

How it works

1. Reads robots.txt on vpic.nhtsa.dot.gov. It currently returns 404, which means no rules.
2. Sends VINs to DecodeVINValuesBatch with POST, in batches of up to 50 (the documented maximum).
3. Makes one request at a time, at most 1 per second, with a clear User-Agent.
4. On 429 or 5xx, honours Retry-After and backs off, up to 5 tries.
5. Stops cleanly on 403 or on any response that is not JSON (vPIC uses automated rate control). It never tries to get around a block.
6. Matches each result to its VIN, by position, or by VIN if the order differs.

Limits

• Coverage. vPIC covers vehicles made for the U.S. market. Other VINs often decode only partially, or show error 7 ("Manufacturer is not registered with NHTSA").
• Missing values. NHTSA says a missing value means it has no data, not that the vehicle lacks the feature.
• No history. There is no recall, theft, accident or ownership data.
• Volume. Up to 10,000 VINs per run.

FAQ

Is this the official NHTSA VIN decoder? No. The Actor calls NHTSA's free public vPIC API for you, in batches, and returns tidy records. It is not affiliated with NHTSA.

Can I decode a partial VIN? Yes. Give 8 to 17 characters, with * for unknown positions. Results are usually partial, with NHTSA error 6 ("Incomplete VIN").

What does decodeStatus: "partial" mean? NHTSA decoded the VIN but returned a warning, for example an incomplete VIN or a wrong check digit. See errorCodes and errorText, and suggestedVin when NHTSA offers one.

Does it give recalls, owner, title or accident history? No. It describes the vehicle model only.

Why are some fields null? NHTSA has no value for that VIN. A missing value doesn't mean the vehicle lacks the feature.