VIN Decoder API

An Apify actor that decodes Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) by querying the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) database. It's designed for batch processing and returns detailed vehicle information.

Overview

This actor provides a REST API for decoding VINs. It's useful for automotive applications, dealership inventory systems, insurance verification, and any service requiring bulk vehicle data. It uses the free NHTSA database, so no API key is required.

Key Features

• Bulk Decoding: Processes up to 50 VINs per API request. The actor automatically handles batching for lists larger than 50.
• Comprehensive Data: Returns 70-100+ fields of vehicle information from the NHTSA database.
• Flexible Input: Accepts VINs as an array, a comma-separated string, or a semicolon-separated string.
• Automatic Handling: Filters out duplicates, empty entries, and invalid VINs. VINs are case-insensitive.
• Simple Integration: Accessible via the standard Apify API with JSON input and output.

How to Use

Send a POST request to the actor's API endpoint with your VINs. The actor will process them and return the decoded vehicle information.

Input

The input must be a JSON object with a vin_codes property.

{
  "vin_codes": ["4JGDA6EB8JB018467", "4JGDA6DB1GA739858"]
}

Parameter: vin_codes (required)
Provide your VINs in one of these formats:
* An array of strings: ["VIN1", "VIN2"]
* A comma-separated string: "VIN1,VIN2"
* A semicolon-separated string: "VIN1;VIN2"

Output

The actor returns an array of JSON objects, one for each successfully processed VIN.

[
  {
    "vin": "4JGDA6EB8JB018467",
    "scrapedAt": "2025-10-25T12:30:45.123Z",
    "vehicleInfo": {
      "Make": "MERCEDES-BENZ",
      "Model": "GLE-Class",
      "Model Year": "2018",
      "Vehicle Type": "MULTIPURPOSE PASSENGER VEHICLE (MPV)",
      "Engine Number of Cylinders": "6",
      "Fuel Type - Primary": "Gasoline",
      "...": "70+ additional fields"
    }
  }
]

Output Fields:
* vin: The original VIN code.
* scrapedAt: ISO timestamp of the request.
* vehicleInfo: An object containing all available data from NHTSA (make, model, year, engine specs, body type, manufacturing details, etc.). Only fields with data are included; null values are omitted.

Notes & Limits

• Rate: Processes approximately 50 VINs every 2-3 seconds.
• Errors: Invalid VINs will return an object with error details within the vehicleInfo. Failed batches or network errors are logged but don't stop the entire job.
• Data Source: All data comes from the public NHTSA database.