# Vehicle API

> REST API for vehicle data: decode any 17-character VIN (year, make, model, trim, engine, plant), pull official US NHTSA recalls, owner complaints and NCAP crash ratings, and look up Dutch license plates from RDW open data. JSON responses, API-key auth, MCP server for AI agents.

- Base URL: `https://vehicles-api.com/api/v1`
- Auth: `X-API-Key: YOUR_KEY` header (or `Authorization: Bearer YOUR_KEY`) on every request.
- Response envelope: `{"status":"success","source":"nhtsa","data":{...}}`; errors: `{"status":"error","error":{"code":"...","message":"..."}}`.
- Safety data (recalls, complaints, NCAP) comes from NHTSA and covers vehicles sold in the US, matched by make + model + year (imports included). A US-market vehicle with no recalls is HTTP 200 with an empty list. A VIN NHTSA cannot match to a US-market make/model/year gets HTTP 422 `coverage_us_only` on /vin/recalls, /vin/complaints and /vin/safety-ratings; /vin/report still returns 200 with specs and an empty safety block (`coverage: "us_only"`). `GET /v1/recalls?make=&model=&year=` lists US-market campaigns without a VIN.
- Billing: only 2xx responses count toward your quota. Errors (4xx/5xx) are never billed.
- Pricing: plans from $49/month, all with a 7-day free trial.

## Endpoints

- [Decode](https://vehicles-api.com/docs#vin-decode): POST `/v1/vin/decode` — Year, make, model, trim, engine, transmission and assembly plant for any 17-character VIN.
- [Full report](https://vehicles-api.com/docs#vin-report): POST `/v1/vin/report` — Specs, open recalls, complaint count and crash ratings in a single call.
- [Validate](https://vehicles-api.com/docs#vin-validate): POST `/v1/vin/validate` — Format and ISO 3779 check-digit validation, computed locally (no upstream call).
- [Recalls](https://vehicles-api.com/docs#vin-recalls): GET `/v1/vin/recalls` — Official NHTSA recall campaigns for the decoded year / make / model.
- [Recalls by model](https://vehicles-api.com/docs#recalls): GET `/v1/recalls` — US-market NHTSA recall campaigns for a make, model and year — no VIN needed. Zero campaigns is a 200 with an empty list.
- [Complaints](https://vehicles-api.com/docs#vin-complaints): GET `/v1/vin/complaints` — Owner complaints filed with NHTSA ODI — the 50 most recent, plus the true total.
- [Safety ratings](https://vehicles-api.com/docs#vin-safety-ratings): GET `/v1/vin/safety-ratings` — NHTSA NCAP crash-test stars: frontal, side and rollover.
- [Netherlands](https://vehicles-api.com/docs#plate-nl): POST `/v1/plate/nl` — Dutch RDW registration record for a kenteken (plate). RDW data never includes the VIN.
- [United States](https://vehicles-api.com/docs#plate-us): POST `/v1/plate/us` — Plate + state → VIN → specs, via a plate-to-VIN vendor. Returns upstream_unavailable until a vendor key is configured.
- [US states](https://vehicles-api.com/docs#plate-us-states): GET `/v1/plate/us/states` — The US states (USPS codes) covered by plate lookups. Static reference data.

## For AI agents

- [MCP server](https://vehicles-api.com/mcp): Setup guide for Claude, Cursor and ChatGPT. Streamable HTTP POST at the same URL, API key as Bearer token. Tools mirror the endpoints above.
- [auth.md](https://vehicles-api.com/auth.md): Self-register a sandbox credential (OAuth client credentials) without a signup form.
- [API catalog](https://vehicles-api.com/.well-known/api-catalog): RFC 9727 linkset.
- [Agent skills](https://vehicles-api.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json): Task-level SKILL.md files.
- [Full reference as plain text](https://vehicles-api.com/llms-full.txt): Every endpoint with parameters and example responses.

## Pages

- [Home](https://vehicles-api.com/): Product overview, live VIN playground, pricing and FAQ.
- [Documentation](https://vehicles-api.com/docs): Full API reference with examples.
- [Postman collection](https://vehicles-api.com/postman/collection): Importable collection for every endpoint.
- [Pricing](https://vehicles-api.com/#pricing): Plan comparison.
- [Blog](https://vehicles-api.com/blog): Guides on VIN decoding, recalls and vehicle data.
- [Terms of Service](https://vehicles-api.com/terms)
- [Privacy Policy](https://vehicles-api.com/privacy)