NHTSA vPIC Vehicle Decoder Scraper

NHTSA vPIC Vehicle Decoder Scraper

Decode VINs in bulk to get vehicle make, model, year, engine, and 100+ specs from the official NHTSA vPIC database. No API key, no rate limits. Export to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML.

The NHTSA vPIC API is free but rate-limited and requires you to handle pagination and error codes yourself. This Actor reads the public vPIC endpoints directly, decoding up to a million VINs per run or listing every make, model, and vehicle type in the catalog. Each result is returned as a flat row with a fixed schema.

Who uses it	What they scrape NHTSA vPIC for
Used car dealers	Decode hundreds of trade-in VINs at once to populate inventory listings with accurate specs.
Insurance adjusters	Verify vehicle trim, engine, and safety features from a VIN list to assess claims accurately.
Fleet managers	Pull specs for every vehicle in a fleet by VIN to plan maintenance and parts ordering.
Auto parts sellers	Look up models for a make to ensure part compatibility listings are complete.

What it does

This Actor decodes 17-character VINs into detailed vehicle specifications or lists the complete NHTSA vPIC catalog of makes, models, and vehicle types, returning each record as a flat row.

• 🔍 Decode VIN: Submit a list of 17-character VINs and get back make, model, year, engine, transmission, body class, plant, and more.
• 🏭 All Makes: Fetch every vehicle make name in the NHTSA vPIC catalog in one call.
• 🚗 Models for Make: Provide a make like 'honda' or 'tesla' and receive all model names for that manufacturer.
• 🚛 Vehicle Types for Make: Get the vehicle type classifications (e.g., passenger car, truck, motorcycle) for a given make.

Results export to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML, or straight from the API.

What you can do with NHTSA vPIC data

📋 Populate a used car inventory feed.

A dealership runs a nightly batch of newly acquired VINs through the Actor and maps the output directly to their website's inventory fields.

🔎 Validate VINs before a vehicle history report.

An insurance team decodes a claimant's VIN to confirm the vehicle year, make, and model match the policy before ordering a full history check.

📊 Build a vehicle spec database.

A parts marketplace fetches all models for a make, then decodes sample VINs to map engine and transmission variants to compatible part numbers.

🚛 Audit a commercial fleet.

A fleet manager decodes a spreadsheet of VINs to verify the registered body class and gross vehicle weight rating for compliance reporting.

Why choose this scraper

	What you get
Bulk VIN decoding	Process up to a million VINs in a single run without hitting rate limits.
Official NHTSA data	Specs come directly from the vPIC product catalog, the same database used for window stickers.
No API key required	The vPIC endpoints are public. You do not need to register an application or manage credentials.
Fixed output schema	Every decoded VIN returns the same flat structure, ready for databases or spreadsheets.

How it compares

This Actor focuses on vehicle specifications from the vPIC catalog. Competitors bundle recalls, complaints, and safety ratings, which this Actor keeps separate for cleaner spec-only workflows.

Feature	ParseForge	NHTSA Vehicle Intelligence	VIN Decoder & Vehicle Data	VIN Decoder (NHTSA) - Bulk VIN to Specs
Bulk VIN decoding (up to 1M per run)	Yes	Not listed	Not listed	Yes
Vehicle catalog: list all makes	Yes	Not listed	Yes	Not listed
Vehicle catalog: models by make	Yes	Not listed	Yes	Not listed
Safety recalls lookup	Not listed	Yes	Yes	Not listed
NCAP crash test ratings	Not listed	Yes	Yes	Not listed
No API key required	Yes	Not listed	Yes	Not listed

Configure the run

Choose a mode and provide VINs or a make name. An optional model year hint improves decode accuracy. The Input tab lists every parameter.

A first run with the defaults:

{
  "maxItems": 10,
  "mode": "decodeVin",
  "vins": [
    "5UXWX7C5*BA"
  ],
  "make": "honda"
}

A larger pull:

{
  "maxItems": 200,
  "mode": "decodeVin",
  "vins": [
    "5UXWX7C5*BA"
  ],
  "make": "honda"
}

Pricing

Pay-per-result: $0.024 per result collected. You pay only for the results written to your dataset.

Results collected	Approximate cost
100 results	$2.40
1,000 results	$24.00
10,000 results	$240.00

New Apify accounts start with $5 in free credit.

Free users

Free-plan runs return up to 10 results as a preview. Upgrade your Apify plan to collect up to 1,000,000 results per run.

Run it

1. Create a free Apify account with $5 in credit.
2. Open the NHTSA vPIC Vehicle Decoder Scraper.
3. Set your inputs and any filters, then click Start.
4. Export the results as CSV, Excel, JSON, or XML from the Dataset tab.

Run it programmatically through the Apify API (run-sync-get-dataset-items) or the ApifyClient for JavaScript and Python.

Use with AI agents (MCP)

Give an AI agent live access to NHTSA vPIC through the Model Context Protocol. Add the Actor to Claude, Cursor, or any MCP client:

$claude mcp add --transport http apify "https://mcp.apify.com?tools=parseforge/nhtsa-vpic-vehicle-decoder-scraper"

Then prompt it in plain language to run the scraper and read back the results.

Troubleshooting

Why am I getting empty results for some VINs?

The VIN may be invalid, too short, or not present in the vPIC database. Check that the VIN is exactly 17 characters and try adding a model year hint. Vehicles older than 1981 or non-US market vehicles may not be in the catalog.

The Actor runs but returns fewer records than my VIN list.

The maxItems setting limits total output records. Increase it to match or exceed your VIN count. Also, duplicate VINs in your input list are skipped because uniqueItems is enabled.

I get an error when using modelsForMake or vehicleTypesForMake.

Make sure you provided a make name in the Make field. The value is case-insensitive but must match a name in the vPIC catalog. Run the 'All Makes' mode first to see valid make names.

The output contains error codes instead of vehicle data.

The vPIC API returns numeric error codes for issues like invalid VINs or server errors. The Actor preserves these codes in the output. Codes 0-9 typically indicate a successful decode with varying levels of detail; codes 10+ indicate an error with that VIN.

FAQ

Question	Answer
What is the difference between decodeVin and the other modes?	decodeVin takes a list of 17-character VINs and returns full vehicle specifications. The other modes (makes, modelsForMake, vehicleTypesForMake) query the vPIC catalog itself to list available makes, models, or vehicle types without needing a VIN.
Does this Actor return safety recalls or crash test ratings?	No. This Actor returns vehicle specifications only from the vPIC product catalog. For recalls, complaints, and NCAP safety ratings, use the separate NHTSA Vehicle Recalls scraper.
How many VINs can I decode in one run?	You can set the maximum records up to 1,000,000. The Actor will process VINs until it reaches that limit or exhausts your input list.
Do I need an API key or NHTSA account?	No. The NHTSA vPIC endpoints are public and require no registration, API key, or authentication.
What happens if a VIN is invalid or too short?	The vPIC API returns an error code for that VIN. The Actor captures the response and includes any error information in the output row so you can identify and correct bad VINs.
Can I decode partial VINs or VINs with wildcards?	The vPIC API expects 17-character VINs. Partial VINs may return limited or no data. The optional model year hint can improve results when the VIN check digit is unknown.
What vehicle makes are supported?	The vPIC catalog includes all makes sold in the US market, from major manufacturers to low-volume and specialty brands. Use the 'All Makes' mode to see the full list.
Is the output schema the same for every VIN?	Yes. Every decoded VIN returns a flat row with the same fields, even if some fields are empty for a particular vehicle. This makes it easy to import into a database or spreadsheet.

Related actors

• nhtsa-vehicle-recalls-scraper: Use this Actor to get safety recalls, consumer complaints, and NCAP crash test ratings for a VIN or make/model/year.

Browse the full ParseForge collection for more scrapers.

🆘 Need help? Email parseforge@protonmail.com with your run ID, your input, and what you expected.

⚠️ Disclaimer. This Actor is unofficial and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. It collects only publicly available data. You are responsible for using the collected data in compliance with the source's terms of service and applicable data-protection laws, including GDPR, CCPA, and PIPL. Do not use it to collect personal data unlawfully.