How to run a Carfax VIN check
Four steps from the VIN to the PDF. You see the vehicle before you pay, and a report that can't be produced costs you nothing.
- 1
Enter the VIN
We check the format and the check digit, then show you the year, make and model before you pay anything.
- 2
Pick a pack
Pay once by card. Credits land in your account as soon as the payment is confirmed.
- 3
Run the report
Each VIN uses one credit. The report takes about a minute, and the page updates on its own.
- 4
Keep the PDF
Download it, print it or forward it. A copy is emailed to you and it stays in your dashboard.
1What we check before you pay
The VIN box refuses the letters I, O and Q, which never appear in a VIN, and counts to seventeen. For North American vehicles it also works out the check digit, the ninth character, which is calculated from the other sixteen. A single mistyped character almost always breaks it, so most typos are caught before they cost you a credit.
A VIN that passes is decoded against NHTSA's public vehicle database, and we show you the year, make and model. If that isn't the car you're looking at, stop there. Nothing has been charged.
2Paying for credits
Reports are paid for with credits: one credit, one report. You buy them in packs, from a single report up to twenty, and pay once by card on a secure checkout page. There is no subscription.
Credits are added the moment the payment is confirmed. They never expire, and your receipts are listed in your dashboard under Orders.
3Running the report
Confirm the VIN in your dashboard and run it. That uses one credit. The report takes about a minute. If the data source is slow, the report page keeps checking by itself; you can leave it open or come back later.
If the report can't be produced, because there is no record for the VIN or the source fails, the credit goes straight back to your balance. You don't have to ask.
4Keeping it
The report is the Carfax PDF. Read it in your browser, download it, print it or send it to a mechanic. We also email you a copy when it's ready, and it stays in your dashboard under Reports.
5If something goes wrong
Email contact@carfaxvincheck.com with the VIN and the address on your account. We usually reply within a few hours. Unused credits can be refunded within 30 days; the refund policy has the details.
Where to find the VIN
Every car has it in the same few places. Check that the one on the car matches the paperwork; a mismatch is reason enough to walk away.
- 1
Windshield, driver's side
A small plate where the dashboard meets the glass. Read it from outside the car.
- 2
Driver's door jamb
On the sticker by the latch, with the tire pressures and build date.
- 3
Title and registration
Printed on both. It should match the car exactly.
- 4
Insurance card
Handy when the car is yours and you're selling.
- 5
The listing
Most sellers post it. If one won't share the VIN, treat that as an answer.