Help Center
All customer service is provided via email. Associates are online Monday through Friday 9am to 5pm CET to respond to your emails.
Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs)
Every car and light truck model year 1981 or later has a unique vehicle identification number (VIN). The VIN is an internationally standardized 17-character number which is used to identify any vehicle.
VINs are used for many important reasons. For example, service shops use VINs to identify the engine, transmission and brake systems installed by manufacturers so that they can properly service vehicles. Law enforcement agencies use VINs to identify and recover stolen cars and car parts. Auto manufacturers use VINs when they resolve safety recalls.
Locating the vehicle identification number
Vehicle History Information from VINs
Characters within a VIN indicate a vehicle's year, make, model, where it was manufactured, and more. VIN decoding is the process of deciphering these details.
The Vehicle Identification Number is also used to access the CARFAX Vehicle History Report. Every CARFAX Report contains important information that can impact your decision about a used vehicle. Some types of information included in CARFAX Reports include:
- Vehicle registration
- Title information, including salvaged or junked titles
- Odometer readings
- Lemon history
- Total loss accident history
- Frame/structural damage
- Accident indicators, such as airbag deployments
- Service and repair information
- Vehicle usage (taxi, rental, lease, etc.)
- Recall information
Using VINs in the Car Buying Process
There are many things a seller may not disclose to you, such as a salvage title, flood damage or an odometer rollback. Any of these and other issues can affect the safety, performance and even value of a used car.
To make it more difficult for you to learn a vehicle's history, the wrong Vehicle Identification Number may be listed in an online vehicle posting or the Vehicle Identification Number may not be provided at all. The vehicle's title documents may be altered too in order to hide potential problems.
Use these tips to protect yourself from fraud as you shop for a used car:
- Get the VIN from the seller or off of the vehicle itself. If the seller refuses to disclose the VIN, that could be a sign that they do not want you to learn the car's history.
- Get the vehicle's history. Ask the seller for a CARFAX Vehicle History Report. If the seller does not provide it, use the VIN to purchase a CARFAX Report at CARFAX.
- Confirm the vehicle's identity. Physically match the VIN provided by the seller to the VINs on the vehicle, the vehicle's title documents, and the CARFAX Report. If any of the VINs do not match, you may want to walk away from the deal.
Sample CARFAX report
View a Sample CARFAX report. Sample CARFAX report
1. Why don't CARFAX Reports include owners' names?
CARFAX Reports do not include owners' names and addresses (for both individuals and companies). This allows us to comply fully with the 1994 Drivers Privacy Protection Act that prohibits third parties such as CARFAX from distributing such information.
The Drivers Privacy Protection Act allows for owners names to be shared only in select cases - related to public safety, police and legal matters. The following link provides a full transcript of the Drivers Privacy Protection Act: http://www.accessreports.com/statutes/DPPA1.htm
2. I know this vehicle has had an accident. Why isn't it listed on the CARFAX Report?
CARFAX compiles the CARFAX Vehicle History Report from information it receives from thousands of sources. As extensive as our database is, we do not have all accidents as many have never been reported, or may only have been reported to source to which CARFAX does not have access.
If you know a vehicle was involved in an accident and it is not on the CARFAX Vehicle History Report, please take a minute to let us know about it by emailing us: accident@carfax.eu
3. What is a Free Record Check?
CARFAX's Free Record Check examines all the vehicle history information that is available for a specific VIN (Vehicle Identification Number) and reports the total number of vehicle history records that exist in our database for that vehicle.
The results you receive from this free service are a complete number of history records available by CARFAX - including potential problems that were reported to CARFAX by its data sources.
To learn the specific details about these records, you will need to purchase a full CARFAX Report by using Free Record Check
4. Do CARFAX Vehicle History Reports have information about accidents?
Yes. If an accident has been reported to CARFAX it will be included in the CARFAX Vehicle History Report. CARFAX reports have information about accidents in all 50 US states, the District of Columbia and Canada. We have information about the most severe accidents, ones for which the states or provinces have issued a branded title. We also have the largest publicly accessible database of less severe accidents which we have compiled from thousands of sources.
However, we do not have all accidents as many have never been reported, or may only have been reported to a source to which CARFAX does not have access. We recommend that any car be inspected by a qualified mechanic prior to purchase to make sure the vehicle is functioning properly and check for signs of unreported damage.
5. Accident Details - How do I get more specifics?
The CARFAX report includes all details which CARFAX has been able to obtain.
The level of detail provided in accident records vary, but the most common information may include:
- An accident report case number
- The geographic location of where the event took place
- The location on a vehicle where damage was sustained
- The extent of damage sustained by a vehicle
To obtain actual copies of the police report, you will need to contact the police department in that respective area. In selected areas, reports can be easily purchased online and for those cases, CARFAX provides the link directly on the CARFAX report.
All available accident record details for which CARFAX has been able to obtain are currently displayed in the Vehicle History Report.
6. How can I get customer service for CARFAX?
CARFAX provides support services that are free of charge for all users of CARFAX Reports - whether they purchased the Report themselves or were provided the Report by a seller.
These include:
1. Frequently Asked Questions: The Help Center, which you are using right now, provides answers to our most commonly asked questions.
2. Free email support: If you don't see the answer to your question please email us directly to CARFAX support.
Today, more than 9 out of 10 customers find their answers online - without ever needing to email customer service. We're pleased to be there to offer free email support for questions that can not be answered in the Help Center (we do not offer phone-based support).
By offering support via email, we can continue to provide our product at a great price to millions of consumers.
7. Can I order CARFAX Reports over the phone?
CARFAX Reports are only sold through the Internet.
8. Why can I not obtain a CARFAX Report on vehicles made before 1981?
We are unable to provide you with vehicle history information for vehicles manufactured prior to 1981, when the 17 character VIN became standard. The 17 character VIN is the code that is used to access CARFAX's vehicle history information database.
To our knowledge there are no sources from which pre-1981 vehicle history information is available. You could try to contact vehicle-specific clubs or groups focused on older vehicles - but we have not found any source with satisfying data on older cars. In most cases the records simply no longer exist or are on paper or microfiche in a storage closets.
Contact us
If you are not finding the answers to your questions, don´t hesitate to contact us directly via our contact form.