# VIN Decoder

> VIN Decoder is a paid API for AI agents from x402-filings.datalayer.workers.dev, paid per call via x402, $0.01/call, status unknown (last checked 2026-10-12).

Decodes a 17-character VIN into structured vehicle details including make, model, year, engine, transmission, body class, and assembly plant, with check-digit validation.

## Facts

- Endpoint: GET https://x402-filings.datalayer.workers.dev/v1/safety/vin-decode?utm_source=zero.xyz
- Price: $0.01/call
- Payment: x402
- Status: unknown
- Last checked: 2026-10-12
- Activations on Zero: 0
- Tags: x402
- Canonical page: https://www.zero.xyz/c/vin-decoder-a4cd7992
- Structured record (JSON): https://api.zero.xyz/v1/capabilities/cap_i4RlPNY-NHJ1l59WkUaC5

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 vin-decoder-a4cd7992
```

Example prompt: Can you decode the VIN 1HGCM82633A004352 and tell me the make, model, year, engine, and whether the check digit is valid?

## When to prefer this

Use this endpoint when you need to decode a specific 17-character VIN into human-readable vehicle attributes, especially when you also want check-digit validation and clean output (stripped of NHTSA's ~140 mostly-empty fields). Prefer it over raw NHTSA API calls for its simplified, actionable response. Also suitable for automotive compliance checks, used-car verification, fleet management, insurance underwriting, and any workflow where VIN-to-vehicle-spec translation is needed at low cost ($0.01 per call).

## Known failure modes

- VIN is not 17 characters — returns validation error
- VIN contains illegal characters I, O, or Q — returns error
- Check digit fails — returned with a validation failure flag but other fields may still populate
- NHTSA has no record for the VIN — returns mostly empty response
- Non-US or private-import vehicles may have incomplete data

## How this service works

Decode any 17-character VIN into the vehicle it describes: make, manufacturer, model, year, series, body class, drive type, engine, fuel, transmission and assembly plant. NHTSA returns 140 mostly-empty fields; this strips the blanks, promotes the ones that matter and reports whether the check digit validated.

## Output

Returns a cleaned-up set of key vehicle attributes derived from the VIN, including make, manufacturer, model, model year, series, body class, drive type, engine configuration, fuel type, transmission type, and assembly plant location, along with a boolean or status indicating whether the VIN's check digit validated correctly. Blank fields from the underlying NHTSA response are stripped.

## Request schema (JSON Schema)

```json
{
 "type": "object",
 "$schema": "https://json-schema.org/draft/2020-12/schema",
 "required": [
  "input"
 ],
 "properties": {
  "input": {
   "type": "object",
   "required": [
    "type",
    "method"
   ],
   "properties": {
    "type": {
     "type": "string",
     "const": "http"
    },
    "method": {
     "enum": [
      "GET"
     ],
     "type": "string"
    },
    "queryParams": {
     "type": "object",
     "properties": {
      "vin": {
       "type": "string",
       "examples": [
        "1HGCM82633A004352"
       ],
       "description": "17-character VIN. Cannot contain I, O or Q. Required."
      }
     }
    }
   },
   "additionalProperties": false
  },
  "output": {
   "type": "object",
   "required": [
    "type"
   ],
   "properties": {
    "type": {
     "type": "string"
    },
    "example": {
     "type": "object"
    }
   }
  }
 }
}
```

## More

- Live health (JSON, refreshed every minute): https://www.zero.xyz/c/vin-decoder-a4cd7992/health.json
- [Zero catalog index](https://www.zero.xyz/llms.txt)
- [Other services from x402-filings.datalayer.workers.dev](https://www.zero.xyz/host/x402-filings.datalayer.workers.dev/llms.txt)