Home/Developers
Developer API
Public, free REST endpoints powering VinCheck's surface. No API key required for read-only endpoints. CORS-open for browser use. Generous rate limits and aggressive CDN caching so legitimate dealer / blogger / marketplace integrations don't hit walls.
No API key
Read-only endpoints are open. Authenticated for write-only operations.
CC BY 4.0 dataset
Open auction-price index, citable and commercial-use friendly.
Rate-limited generously
100 req/min/IP on the VIN preview, CDN-cached for hours/days.
Partner API v1
Pay per report
Sell full vehicle history reports on your website
The commercial API behind VinCheck: NMVTIS title and odometer records via ClearVin plus damage history plus Copart/IAAI auction photos. Give your visitors the same free preview we show on our check page, and pay only when a full report is generated — the same VIN re-requested within 30 days is served from cache at no charge.
Free previews & free 30-day VIN cache — charged per generated report only
Simple pricing — $1.50 per generated report, free previews, no monthly minimums
SHA-256-hashed keys, live+test modes, scopes, IP allowlist, 1-click revoke
Idempotency-Key retries can never double-charge; failed generations auto-refund
Per-key rate limits with standard X-RateLimit headers + X-Request-Id tracing
Full usage ledger API with charge & balance snapshots per call
# 1 · Free preview for your visitor curl https://vincheck.it.com/api/v1/vins/{VIN}/preview -H "Authorization: Bearer vc_test_KEY" # 2 · Full report when they buy (billed; Idempotency-Key = safe retries) curl -X POST https://vincheck.it.com/api/v1/reports \ -H "Authorization: Bearer vc_live_KEY" -H "Idempotency-Key: order-8421" \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d '{"vin":"{VIN}"}'Include your website and expected monthly volume — live + test keys usually within one business day.
Authentication
Every endpoint listed here is public and unauthenticated. CORS is open. Use them directly from server-side or browser code. If you need higher rate limits or batch endpoints for production dealer use, email api@vincheck.it.com.
We reserve the right to block scraping that violates Copart's or IAAI's terms or attempts to mirror our database wholesale. Honest integrations are welcome.
VIN decode & history
GET
/api/vin/preview/{vin}Free
Free VIN preview — year/make/model/trim/engine/transmission + NHTSA recalls for the model. Powers our free VIN decoder.
Rate limit: 100 req/min/IPCache: 24h
curl https://vincheck.it.com/api/vin/preview/1HGCM82633A123456
GET
/api/recalls/{vin}Free
NHTSA recall lookup by VIN. Returns the NHTSA recalls for the model with descriptions and remedy.
Cache: 15min
curl https://vincheck.it.com/api/recalls/1HGCM82633A123456
GET
/api/auction/vin/{vin}Free
Auction lot data for a VIN — photos, damage, sale prices, bid history from Copart and IAAI.
Cache: 1h
curl https://vincheck.it.com/api/auction/vin/1HGCM82633A123456
Safety & NHTSA
GET
/api/safety-ratings/{year}/{make}/{model}Free
NHTSA NCAP 5-star ratings — frontal, side, rollover scores plus active-safety features (ESC, FCW, LDW).
Cache: 24h
curl https://vincheck.it.com/api/safety-ratings/2019/honda/civic
Market & aggregate data
GET
/api/value/{year}/{make}/{model}Free
Median sale price + 25/75 percentile bands + recent comps for a year/make/model. Live auction data.
Cache: 1h
curl https://vincheck.it.com/api/value/2019/honda/civic
GET
/api/auctions/state/{state}Free
State-level aggregates: total lots, top makes, common damage, median sale price, recent listings.
Cache: 1h
curl https://vincheck.it.com/api/auctions/state/tx
GET
/api/auctions/city/{state}/{city}Free
City-level aggregates for ~1000 US metros with auction inventory.
Cache: 1h
curl https://vincheck.it.com/api/auctions/city/tx/houston
GET
/api/make/{slug}Free
Per-manufacturer rollup: total lots, top models with pricing, top damages, top states.
Cache: 1h
curl https://vincheck.it.com/api/make/honda
GET
/api/rankings/{kind}Free
Ranking listicle data — most-stolen-cars, most-totaled-cars, most-flooded-cars, worst-cars-to-buy.
Cache: 1h
curl https://vincheck.it.com/api/rankings/most-stolen-cars
Live feeds & datasets
GET
/api/dealsFree
Today's curated auction deals — under-priced lots from the last 36 hours, JSON.
Cache: 30min
curl https://vincheck.it.com/api/deals
GET
/api/deals/rssFree
Same deals as RSS 2.0 — drop into any feed reader.
Cache: 30min
Subscribe in your feed reader: https://vincheck.it.com/api/deals/rss
GET
/api/data/auction-price-index.csvFree
Open dataset — every (year, make, model) tuple with sample count + 25/50/75 price percentiles. CC BY 4.0.
Cache: 6h
curl -O https://vincheck.it.com/api/data/auction-price-index.csv
GET
/api/data/auction-price-index.jsonFree
Same data as JSON with metadata (license, attribution, generatedAt, rowCount).
Cache: 6h
curl https://vincheck.it.com/api/data/auction-price-index.json
Newsletter & subscriptions
POST
/api/newsletter/subscribeFree
Subscribe an email to the VinCheck digest. Used by the embed widget and the on-page signup forms.
curl -X POST -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d '{"email":"you@example.com","source":"api"}' https://vincheck.it.com/api/newsletter/subscribeBuilding something on the API?
Email api@vincheck.it.com with your use case. Production dealer integrations, marketplace plugins, and research data pulls get higher limits and priority support.