CarAPI

About CarAPI

CarAPI is a REST/JSON API platform providing automotive data, including vehicle year/make/model/trim specifications, VIN decoding, license plate to VIN lookups, OBD-II diagnostic codes, and downloadable vehicle data feeds in CSV or XLS format. The API is documented in OpenAPI and can be explored through Swagger or Redoc. Year/make/model data covers vehicles sold in the United States since 1900, with trim-level specifications and VIN decoding covering vehicles since 1990. License plate lookups cover the United States, Canada, Australia, and other countries. A separate Powersports API provides year, make, and model data for motorcycles.

The service is aimed at developers and businesses building applications that require vehicle data, such as lead generation tools, quote systems, or CRM software. Data can be imported into a database via REST API calls or CSV import, with new trims added daily for API users and weekly for CSV users. Support is available by email and chat.

CarAPI offers a free dataset covering vehicle data from 2015 to 2020 that requires no signup; data outside that range requires a subscription. Paid plans include a daily request allowance for vehicle specifications ranging from 1,500 to 6,000 requests, with additional requests available on a pay-per-request basis. License plate lookups are billed per request with no daily limit.

Key features

• VIN decoding for vehicles from 1990 and up in the US
• Vehicle specs covering year, make, model and trims since 1900
• License plate to VIN lookup for US, Canada, Australia and other countries
• Downloadable vehicle data feed in CSV or Excel format
• Access to over 9,000 OBD-II diagnostic codes
• REST + JSON API fully documented in OpenAPI with Swagger/Redoc explorer

Frequently asked questions