# AgentUtility VIN Decode

> AgentUtility VIN Decode is a paid API for AI agents from x402.agentutility.ai, paid per call via x402, $0.005/call, status unknown (last checked 2026-09-14).

Decodes a Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) into detailed vehicle specifications including make, model, year, body class, fuel type, and electrification level via NHTSA vPIC.

## Facts

- Endpoint: POST https://x402.agentutility.ai/vin-decode
- Price: $0.005/call
- Payment: x402
- Status: unknown
- Last checked: 2026-09-14
- Activations on Zero: 0
- Tags: x402
- Canonical page: https://www.zero.xyz/c/agentutility-vin-decode-893f1169
- Structured record (JSON): https://api.zero.xyz/v1/capabilities/cap_Vk_YKHn9UMzR4ju8ACkO0

Status and success rate cover calls made through Zero and Zero's own probes. Third-party monitors may report differently.

## How to call it through Zero

Zero handles the 402 payment challenge and records the run. With the Zero CLI installed (`npm i -g @zeroxyz/cli`):

```sh
zero fetch --capability agentutility-vin-decode-893f1169 -d '<json body>'
```

Example prompt: Can you decode the VIN 5YJ3E1EA0KF310000 and tell me the make, model, year, body type, and whether it's electric?

## When to prefer this

Use this endpoint when you need to decode a VIN into structured vehicle metadata quickly and cheaply ($0.005 USDC per call). Ideal for automotive research, insurance, fleet management, used-car verification, or any agent workflow that needs to enrich a VIN with NHTSA-sourced vehicle specs without building a direct NHTSA integration. Prefer over raw NHTSA API calls when operating in an x402/USDC payment context or when MCP-callable endpoints are required.

## Known failure modes

- Invalid VIN format returns decode_ok=false with errors array populated
- Non-US or unrecognized VINs may return partial data or empty fields
- Malformed request body returns HTTP 400
- Payment not provided or insufficient returns HTTP 402
- NHTSA upstream outage may cause delayed or failed response

## How this service works

Paid x402 endpoints organized into product clusters. USDC-settled on Base. MCP-callable. ERC-8004 identity registry agentId 47167.

## Output

Returns a JSON object with decoded vehicle attributes including make, model, model year, body class, vehicle type, manufacturer, plant country, primary fuel type, electrification level (e.g. BEV), checksum validity, data source attribution, and any decode errors encountered.

## Request schema (JSON Schema)

```json
{
 "$schema": "https://json-schema.org/draft/2020-12/schema",
 "type": "object",
 "properties": {
  "input": {
   "type": "object",
   "properties": {
    "type": {
     "type": "string",
     "const": "http"
    },
    "method": {
     "type": "string",
     "enum": [
      "POST"
     ]
    },
    "bodyType": {
     "type": "string",
     "enum": [
      "json",
      "form-data",
      "text"
     ]
    },
    "body": {
     "properties": {
      "vin": {
       "type": "string",
       "description": "17-character VIN. Alphanumeric, no I/O/Q (those are excluded from the VIN alphabet to avoid confusion with 1/0)."
      },
      "model_year": {
       "type": [
        "integer",
        "string"
       ],
       "description": "Optional model year hint (YYYY). Helps NHTSA disambiguate the 10th position when the same WMI was reused across model years."
      }
     },
     "required": [
      "vin"
     ]
    }
   },
   "required": [
    "type",
    "method",
    "bodyType",
    "body"
   ],
   "additionalProperties": false
  },
  "output": {
   "type": "object",
   "properties": {
    "type": {
     "type": "string"
    },
    "example": {
     "type": "object",
     "properties": {
      "vin": {
       "type": "string"
      },
      "valid_checksum": {
       "type": "boolean"
      },
      "decode_ok": {
       "type": "boolean"
      },
      "errors": {
       "type": "array"
      },
      "make": {
       "type": "string"
      },
      "model": {
       "type": "string"
      },
      "model_year": {
       "type": "integer"
      },
      "manufacturer": {
       "type": "string"
      },
      "plant_country": {
       "type": "string"
      },
      "body_class": {
       "type": "string"
      },
      "vehicle_type": {
       "type": "string"
      },
      "fuel_type_primary": {
       "type": "string"
      },
      "electrification_level": {
       "type": "string"
      },
      "source": {
       "type": "string"
      },
      "attribution": {
       "type": "string"
      }
     }
    }
   },
   "required": [
    "type"
   ]
  }
 },
 "required": [
  "input"
 ]
}
```

## Response schema (JSON Schema)

```json
{
 "type": "json",
 "example": {
  "vin": "5YJ3E1EA0KF310000",
  "make": "TESLA",
  "model": "Model 3",
  "errors": [],
  "source": "NHTSA vPIC DecodeVinValuesExtended",
  "decode_ok": true,
  "body_class": "Sedan/Saloon",
  "model_year": 2019,
  "attribution": "Data: NHTSA vPIC (https://vpic.nhtsa.dot.gov), US public domain.",
  "manufacturer": "TESLA, INC.",
  "vehicle_type": "PASSENGER CAR",
  "plant_country": "UNITED STATES (USA)",
  "valid_checksum": true,
  "fuel_type_primary": "Electric",
  "electrification_level": "BEV (Battery Electric Vehicle)"
 }
}
```

## More

- Live health (JSON, refreshed every minute): https://www.zero.xyz/c/agentutility-vin-decode-893f1169/health.json
- [Zero catalog index](https://www.zero.xyz/llms.txt)
- [Other services from x402.agentutility.ai](https://www.zero.xyz/host/x402.agentutility.ai/llms.txt)