# NHTSA vPIC Vehicle Decoder Scraper (`parseforge/nhtsa-vpic-vehicle-decoder-scraper`) Actor

Decode VINs with NHTSA vPIC: make, model, year, manufacturer, plant, body class, engine, fuel, transmission, drive type, GVWR, doors, seats, airbags, recalls, and 100+ technical attributes. Export vehicle specifications to JSON, CSV, or Excel for automotive research and fleet ops.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/parseforge/nhtsa-vpic-vehicle-decoder-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [ParseForge](https://apify.com/parseforge) (community)
- **Categories:** Business, Developer tools, Other
- **Stats:** 4 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $18.00 / 1,000 result items

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.
Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

Actors are web data automations that power AI and operations. They run on the Apify platform to scrape websites, process data, connect APIs, and automate workflows.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.
Actors are written with capital "A".

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.
The best way to integrate Actors is as follows.

- **AI agents and MCP clients** — the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md) at `https://mcp.apify.com` (remote, streamable HTTP, OAuth on first use).
- **Agentic workflows and local Actor development** — [Agent Skills](https://apify.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json) with the [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): `npm install -g apify-cli`, then `apify login`.
- **JavaScript/TypeScript projects** — the official [JS/TS client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): `npm install apify-client`.
- **Python projects** — the official [Python client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): `pip install apify-client`.
- **Any other language** — the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md).

For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below.

For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt).

# README

![ParseForge Banner](https://github.com/ParseForge/apify-assets/blob/ad35ccc13ddd068b9d6cba33f323962e39aed5b2/banner.jpg?raw=true)

## 🚗 NHTSA vPIC Vehicle Decoder Scraper

> 🚀 **Decode any US VIN and browse the NHTSA make / model catalog in seconds.** Pull **full vehicle specs from a 17-character VIN**, list every make in the vPIC database, or enumerate models and vehicle types per make. No API key, no per-request fees, no manual CSV parsing.

The **NHTSA vPIC Vehicle Decoder Scraper** wraps the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Vehicle Product Information Catalog (vPIC), the authoritative US source for VIN decoding and make / model reference data. Each decoded VIN returns make, model, model year, manufacturer, body class, trim, series, engine model, horsepower, cylinder count, displacement, fuel type, transmission style, drive type, plant location, door count, and dozens of additional specification fields.

The catalog covers **every make and model sold in the United States** including foreign manufacturers (Honda, Toyota, BMW, Mercedes), domestic legacy nameplates (Ford, GM, Chrysler), and modern EV makers (Tesla, Rivian, Lucid). Use this Actor to validate insurance applications, populate a dealer-inventory database, enrich telematics streams, or build a vehicle-specs API of your own. Output exports as CSV, Excel, JSON, or XML.

> 🛑 **NHTSA Recalls is a separate scraper.** This Actor returns vehicle specifications only. For safety recall lookups, use the dedicated NHTSA Vehicle Recalls scraper.

| 🎯 Target Audience | 💡 Primary Use Cases |
|---|---|
| Auto insurers, dealer management systems, fleet operators, telematics platforms, automotive marketplaces, used-car dealers, vehicle-history reporters | VIN decode and validation, dealer inventory enrichment, insurance underwriting, fleet specification tracking, telematics device pairing, vehicle-classification analytics |

### 📋 What the NHTSA vPIC Decoder does

Four catalog modes in a single Actor:

- 🔢 **Decode VIN (`decodeVin`).** Full specification decode from a 17-character VIN, optionally hinted by model year.
- 🏭 **All Makes (`makes`).** Enumerate every make in the vPIC catalog with make ID and name.
- 🚙 **Models for Make (`modelsForMake`).** List every model for a given make name.
- 🚐 **Vehicle Types for Make (`vehicleTypesForMake`).** List the vehicle-type classifications the make produces.

Each decoded VIN includes the canonical make, model, year, manufacturer name and ID, body class, trim, series, engine model, horsepower, cylinder count, fuel type, transmission style, drive type, plant city / state / country, door count, displacement, and the vPIC decode result codes.

> 💡 **Why it matters:** vPIC is the only free, comprehensive VIN decoder for the US market. Commercial alternatives charge per VIN lookup. Building your own integration means handling the underlying vPIC service contracts, partial-VIN edge cases, and per-mode response shapes by hand. This Actor skips all of that.

### 📊 Data fields

Each record includes: `bodyClass`, `displacementL`, `doors`, `driveType`, `engineCylinders`, `engineHP`, `engineModel`, `errorCode`, `errorText`, `fuelType`, `make`, `makeId`, `makeName`, `manufacturer`, `manufacturerId`, `mode`, `model`, `modelId`, `modelName`, `modelYear`, `plantCity`, `plantCompanyName`, `plantCountry`, `plantState`, `scrapedAt`, `series`, `transmissionStyle`, `trim`, `vehicleType`, `vehicleTypeId`, `vehicleTypeName`, `vin`. These field names come straight from the actor's dataset schema, so what you see here is what lands in your dataset.

### 🚀 How to use

1. 📝 **Sign up.** [Create a free account with $5 credit](https://console.apify.com/sign-up?fpr=vmoqkp) (takes 2 minutes).
2. 🌐 **Open the Actor.** Go to the NHTSA vPIC Vehicle Decoder Scraper page on the Apify Store.
3. 🎯 **Set input.** Pick a mode (decodeVin / makes / modelsForMake / vehicleTypesForMake), list inputs.
4. 🚀 **Run it.** Click **Start** and let the Actor collect your data.
5. 📥 **Download.** Grab your results in the **Dataset** tab as CSV, Excel, JSON, or XML.

> ⏱️ Total time from signup to downloaded dataset: **3-5 minutes.** No coding required.

### 🔗 Recommended Actors

- [**🛑 NHTSA Vehicle Recalls Scraper**](https://apify.com/parseforge/nhtsa-vehicle-recalls-scraper) - Active US safety recalls by VIN, make, or model
- [**🚗 Kelley Blue Book Scraper**](https://apify.com/parseforge/kelley-blue-book-scraper) - US vehicle valuation data
- [**🚙 Cars For Sale Scraper**](https://apify.com/parseforge/cars-for-sale-scraper) - US used-car listings
- [**🚜 CommercialTruckTrader Scraper**](https://apify.com/parseforge/commercialtrucktrader-scraper) - US commercial truck listings
- [**📈 AutoTrader Scraper**](https://apify.com/parseforge/autotrader-scraper) - US auto-market listings

> 💡 **Pro Tip:** browse the complete [ParseForge collection](https://apify.com/parseforge) for more automotive-data scrapers.

> **⚠️ Disclaimer:** this Actor is an independent tool and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration or the US Department of Transportation. All trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners. Only publicly available NHTSA vPIC data is collected.

### 🆘 Need Help?

If you hit a bug, have questions about setup, or need a scraper we haven't built yet, open our [contact form](https://tally.so/r/BzdKgA) or write to parseforge@protonmail.com. We also take on paid custom data projects.

For faster answers, join our [Discord](https://parseforge.co/discord). It's the best place to get support and suggest new actors.

# Actor input Schema

## `maxItems` (type: `integer`):

How many records to collect per run.

## `mode` (type: `string`):

decodeVin = decode 17-char VINs. makes = list every make in the vPIC catalog. modelsForMake = list models for a make. vehicleTypesForMake = list vehicle types for a make. This actor returns specs only — for recalls see the separate NHTSA Vehicle Recalls scraper.

## `vins` (type: `array`):

List of 17-character VINs. Only used in decodeVin mode.

## `make` (type: `string`):

Vehicle make name. Used by modelsForMake and vehicleTypesForMake modes. Example: 'honda', 'tesla', 'ford'.

## `modelYear` (type: `integer`):

Optional model year hint, improves accuracy in decodeVin mode.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "maxItems": 10,
  "mode": "decodeVin",
  "vins": [
    "5UXWX7C5*BA"
  ],
  "make": "honda"
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `overview` (type: `string`):

No description

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "maxItems": 10,
    "mode": "decodeVin",
    "vins": [
        "5UXWX7C5*BA"
    ],
    "make": "honda"
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("parseforge/nhtsa-vpic-vehicle-decoder-scraper").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
    "maxItems": 10,
    "mode": "decodeVin",
    "vins": ["5UXWX7C5*BA"],
    "make": "honda",
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("parseforge/nhtsa-vpic-vehicle-decoder-scraper").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print("💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/" + run["defaultDatasetId"])
for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "maxItems": 10,
  "mode": "decodeVin",
  "vins": [
    "5UXWX7C5*BA"
  ],
  "make": "honda"
}' |
apify call parseforge/nhtsa-vpic-vehicle-decoder-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "mcp-remote",
                "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=parseforge/nhtsa-vpic-vehicle-decoder-scraper",
                "--header",
                "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_API_TOKEN>"
            ]
        }
    }
}

```

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/HTNt13J1Ym66kxcnY/builds/Oer4d6hrefsfNeZeQ/openapi.json