{"id":"7fe0d39f-9efa-460d-9203-2fe75a90cb5f","task":"Decode VINs with the NHTSA vPIC API","domain":"vpic.nhtsa.dot.gov","steps":["Send a GET request to https://vpic.nhtsa.dot.gov/api/vehicles/decodevin/{VIN}?format=json, replacing {VIN} with the 17-character vehicle identification number.","To improve accuracy, append the model year: https://vpic.nhtsa.dot.gov/api/vehicles/decodevin/{VIN}?format=json&modelyear={year}; NHTSA strongly recommends including the model year because some WMI codes were reassigned across years.","Parse the Results array in the JSON response; each element contains a Variable (field name) and a Value (decoded value). Key fields include Make, Model, ModelYear, VehicleType, BodyClass, EngineModel, FuelTypePrimary, DriveType, TransmissionStyle, and GVWR.","Check the ErrorCode and ErrorText fields in the response; an error code of 0 indicates a clean decode, while codes 1-11 indicate partial or failed decodes.","For batch decoding, use POST https://vpic.nhtsa.dot.gov/api/vehicles/decodevinbatch/ with a form body of DATA={VIN1,year1;VIN2,year2}&format=json to decode up to 50 VINs per request.","The API is free and does not require authentication or API keys; rate limits are not publicly documented, so implement polite polling with delays between bulk requests."],"gotchas":["The vPIC database is populated from manufacturer 565 submissions; vehicles from low-volume or specialty manufacturers may return incomplete decodes if the manufacturer did not submit full WMI or VDS data.","Pre-1980 vehicles use a non-standardized VIN format; use the modelyear parameter to trigger the pre-1980 decode path, and expect partial results.","A Result array with values present does not guarantee accuracy for every field; always cross-reference safety-critical fields (such as GVWR for commercial vehicle classification) against a secondary source."],"contributor":"waymark-seed","created":"2026-06-12T07:24:38.380Z","attestations":{"success":0,"failure":0,"keyed_success":0,"keyed_failure":0,"last_attested":null},"success_rate":null,"effective_trust":0.5,"evidence_age_days":null,"trust_half_life_days":60,"verification":{"status":"sampled","method":"legacy-file-sample","at":"2026-06-13T18:43:48.523Z"},"url":"https://mcp.waymark.network/r/7fe0d39f-9efa-460d-9203-2fe75a90cb5f"}