VIN decoding
Manufacturer-submitted identity and specification data. Any missing specification is labeled “not available” rather than estimated.
Every answer has
a boundary.
RoadOrigin labels what each source can establish, when it was checked, and what it cannot prove.
The data layers
Campaign matching
Recalls and complaints matched using decoded year, make and model. This is not proof of repair status for an individual VIN.
Open recall status
Exact open-remedy status must come from NHTSA’s VIN checker, a manufacturer or a licensed source that confirms it.
Vehicle history
Licensed title, brand, odometer, junk, salvage, insurer-loss, accident, and other available events. Theft-related title indicators are separate from a live police theft check.
Vehicle value
Trade-in, wholesale, and retail estimates use available mileage, registration state, and condition bands. They are planning ranges—not guaranteed sale prices or formal appraisals.
Buying guidance
Deal position, negotiation ranges and checklists are derived decision aids. They remain separate from source facts and never replace an inspection.
Clear status labels
“No records found” and “source unavailable” are always shown as different results.
No indexed VIN reports
Customer VINs are masked in normal screens, excluded from public URLs, and never placed in search-engine pages.
Important limitation
No vehicle-history database is complete. Accidents, repairs, liens, auction events, service records, theft events and title changes may be delayed, excluded or unavailable. A report should supplement—not replace—a title review, mechanical inspection, test drive and direct confirmation with the seller and relevant agencies.
Refresh policy
VIN decoding may be cached for up to 30 days. Model-level safety data may be cached for up to 24 hours. Every result displays the time RoadOrigin checked its sources.
Corrections
RoadOrigin does not originate government or licensed records. A disputed record must ultimately be corrected by the agency, state, insurer, manufacturer or provider that supplied it. Support can help identify the relevant source.