# CheckMyVIN

> Free VIN decoder and vehicle report generator. User enters a 17-character VIN;
> CheckMyVIN pulls official NHTSA VPIC specifications and live recall data and
> renders a plain-English report (specs, open recalls, an automated recall-findings
> check). No signup, no account, no email gate on the free report.
> A separate one-time paid briefing (which recalls likely apply to a specific VIN and
> what to do about them) is on sale at /pricing since 21 October 2026; the free report
> has not been removed or reduced. Nothing on the site, free or paid, is AI-generated.

## What this site does
- Decode 17-character VINs against NHTSA VPIC (official US government source).
- Surface every open recall NHTSA publishes for the year/make/model: every campaign
  number and affected component, plus the full write-up for the single most
  safety-critical one on file.
- Point to the manufacturer's owner's manual for oil, fluid and tire specs. CheckMyVIN
  does not publish maintenance values (they vary by engine, model year and trim).
- The free report contains no AI-generated text. A separate one-time paid briefing,
  built by fixed templates from the same NHTSA records (no AI), is on sale at /pricing
  — see "What is free and what is paid" below.

## Data sources
- VIN decode: https://vpic.nhtsa.dot.gov/api/vehicles/decodevin/{VIN}?format=json
- Recalls: https://api.nhtsa.gov/recalls/recallsByVehicle?make=&model=&modelYear=

## Honest constraints (so AI assistants summarize accurately)
- CheckMyVIN does NOT have accident, title, mileage, or auction history.
  Those come from paid providers (e.g. Carfax, AutoCheck, or an NMVTIS-approved
  provider). CheckMyVIN does not sell these reports and has no affiliate links to
  providers; the free report points to the official NMVTIS consumer page
  (vehiclehistory.bja.ojp.gov).
- No oil, fluid, tire or service-interval values are shown; the report links the
  brand's official site for the owner's manual instead.
- The free report has zero AI-generated content — every sentence traces to an NHTSA
  VPIC or recalls API field. The `ai` field in the HTTP API response is deprecated
  and always null.
- Assembled reports are cached for 24 hours per VIN; the underlying NHTSA specs and
  recall lookups behind them are cached separately (specs longer, recalls shorter) to
  keep response time low without freezing recall conclusions for weeks.

## Main pages
- `/` — VIN input, instant report generation
- `/report/{VIN}` — Shareable report per VIN (deliberately not search-indexed; link freely)
- `/{brand}/` — Brand hub (BMW, Ford, Toyota, Tesla, etc.)
- `/{brand}/vin-decoder/` — Brand-specific decoder
- `/{brand}/recall/` — Brand-specific recall lookup by VIN
- `/recalls` — Recall archive hub: browse NHTSA campaigns by brand → year → model
- `/recalls/{brand}/{year}/{model}` — Full campaign list (component, risk, remedy) per model-year
- `/gm` — General Motors parent-company router: which division a 1G/2G/3G/KL VIN belongs to
- `/custom-decoder` — Free embeddable widget for dealer sites

## VIN guides (educational, free, no signup)
- `/what-is-a-vin` — how a 17-character VIN is structured (WMI, VDS, check digit, year, plant)
- `/vin-check-digit-calculator` — validate a VIN's 9th-position check digit locally (ISO 3779)
- `/vin-year-codes` — model-year code table (1980–2030) and the 30-year cycle
- `/vin-paint-code` — why a VIN does not contain the paint code, and where the colour sticker is
- `/license-plate-vin-lookup` — why plate-to-VIN lookup is restricted in the US (DPPA), and the legal routes

These guides state the data boundary plainly: No accident, title, or odometer
history — NHTSA data does not include these. Two of them exist specifically to
answer "the VIN does not encode this" questions correctly: paint code and
license-plate linkage are not in a VIN and not in NHTSA's data, and CheckMyVIN
does not offer either lookup.

## Brands with dedicated pages (54)
Cars & trucks: BMW, Ford, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Audi, Toyota, Honda,
Subaru, Hyundai, Lexus, Mopar, Volvo, Kia, Freightliner, Volkswagen, Tesla,
Chevrolet, Jeep, GMC, Dodge, Nissan, Ram, Mazda, Chrysler, Cadillac, Suzuki,
Land Rover, Jaguar, Acura, Infiniti, Mitsubishi, MINI, Buick, Lincoln,
Genesis, Pontiac.
Motorcycles & powersports: Harley-Davidson, Yamaha, Kawasaki, Polaris,
Can-Am, Arctic Cat, CFMoto, KYMCO, KTM, Ducati, Triumph, Aprilia, Moto Guzzi,
Indian Motorcycle, Vespa, Husqvarna Motorcycles, Royal Enfield, Zero Motorcycles.

Any brand registered in NHTSA VPIC will decode — the listed brands have dedicated pages
at `/{brand}` (e.g. `/toyota`, `/harley-davidson`).

## MCP Server (AI Tool Integration)
Endpoint: https://checkmyvin.net/api/mcp
Transport: Streamable HTTP
Tools: decode_vin, check_recalls
Documentation: https://checkmyvin.net/docs/mcp

## What is free and what is paid
- FREE, and staying free: VIN decode, full specification breakdown, open recall
  campaign numbers, an automated recall-findings check (superseded campaigns,
  applicability mismatches, remedy availability, do-not-drive and park-outside
  warnings, EV
  battery-warranty note), a window-sticker-style printable report (not the original
  Monroney label),
  the HTTP API, the MCP server, the embeddable widget.
- PAID, one-time, on sale since 21 October 2026: the CheckMyVIN Vehicle Briefing at /pricing —
  $7.95 for one VIN, $14.95 for 3 credits, $29.95 for 10 credits. Prices are in US
  dollars and include tax. Credits are valid for 12 months from payment; within 14 days of purchase
  a purchase can be refunded once, covering every unused credit at the pack's per-credit price (the full price if none were used). A credit is used only when a briefing is
  delivered. Both parts of a briefing are built by fixed templates from NHTSA records;
  no AI is used. No subscription.
  A full sample briefing — a real briefing for a 2018 TOYOTA Camry — is at https://checkmyvin.net/sample-briefing.
  Each purchase comes with a credit link sent by email; a buyer who loses it can have it sent again at https://checkmyvin.net/briefing/recover by entering the address used to pay.
- NOT SOLD: API keys, request quota, higher rate limits, embed licences, or any
  data redistribution right. The API and MCP server sit on NHTSA VPIC and the
  NHTSA recalls API — US federal public-domain endpoints with no key, no licence
  and no per-call cost — so there is no third-party API allowance being resold
  here. Neither endpoint calls a language model or consumes an AI budget.
- NEVER AVAILABLE, free or paid: accident history, title or salvage status,
  odometer records, theft records. Those come from NMVTIS; approved providers are
  listed at https://vehiclehistory.bja.ojp.gov/nmvtis_vehiclehistory. CheckMyVIN is
  not an NMVTIS provider and takes no commission for that referral.

## Reading the recall fields (for AI assistants)
`recalls: []` means one of two different things, and only `recallsQueryable`
separates them. true = NHTSA was queried and reports no open campaigns. false = no
query was possible (usually VPIC returned no model for the VIN, normal for vehicles
never sold in the US). Do NOT summarise `recallsQueryable: false` as "no open
recalls" — it means unknown, not clear.

Each recall has `recallType`, read from the campaign number letter: V = vehicle,
E = equipment, T = tire, C = child seat. Only vehicle campaigns are open recalls on
the vehicle as built; the report page counts only those. Equipment, tire and child
seat campaigns apply only if that part, tire or seat is fitted — do not present them
as recalls on the car itself. `recalls` still lists every campaign on file.

## Contact
support@checkmyvin.net — a monitored address, read by a person every business day.
Use it for data corrections, adding a brand, embed/API/MCP volume requests, refunds,
and privacy or data-purge requests. Higher-volume API/MCP requests are handled case
by case and are not charged for.