Terms of Use

1. Free use

CheckMyVIN is free to use without an account for individuals checking vehicles they intend to buy, own, or have an interest in. There is no subscription, no account requirement, no email harvest. We may show one affiliate slot (vehicle history reports from a licensed provider) on reports — that link is optional; clicking it costs you nothing extra.

2. The data is informational only

Reports are generated from official NHTSA public databases (VPIC decode and recalls) plus an AI-written plain-English summary. They are informational only and not a substitute for a professional inspection, a vehicle history report (Carfax / AutoCheck), or independent mechanical evaluation. Specifically:

• We do not have accident, title, mileage, salvage, or auction data.
• We do not certify VIN-specific recall status — only year/make/model campaigns.
• AI summaries can be wrong. Verify any factual claim before acting on it.
• Maintenance specs match by engine code; trim-level items (tires, etc.) are explicitly marked "Varies by trim".

You agree not to hold CheckMyVIN liable for any purchase, sale, repair, or insurance decision made based on a report. Always have a qualified mechanic inspect a vehicle before purchase.

3. No scraping or API abuse

The HTTP API (/api/decode) and the MCP server (/api/mcp) are rate-limited to 100 requests per IP per UTC day on the free tier. You agree:

• Not to circumvent the rate limit by rotating IPs, proxies, or VPNs.
• Not to scrape the rendered pages programmatically — use the API or MCP server, both of which return clean JSON.
• Not to resell or rebadge the data without attribution and without your own value-add.
• To respect robots.txt — AI crawlers (GPTBot, ClaudeBot, PerplexityBot, Google-Extended) are explicitly allowed; other automated access should identify itself with a User-Agent.

If you need higher volume, email kimicode@hotmail.com — we have paid tiers and can whitelist IPs.

4. Embed widget — attribution is required

The embeddable VIN decoder at /embed is free for use on third-party sites under one condition: the attribution link to https://checkmyvin.net must remain visible outside the iframe. The embed code generator at /custom-decoder produces the correct markup. Removing, hiding, obfuscating, or styling-away the attribution link is a breach of these terms and we may block iframes loaded from offending hosts.

5. MCP server use

The Model Context Protocol server at /api/mcp is provided for AI assistants (Claude Desktop, Claude.ai, ChatGPT custom connectors) to retrieve VIN data on behalf of human users. The tools are decode_vin and check_recalls. Same accuracy disclaimer (section 2) and same rate limit (section 3) apply. AI assistants should pass through the report disclaimer to the end user.

6. Content ownership

NHTSA data is US-government public-domain data. The AI summary text, the maintenance database, the brand-page editorial content, and the site code are CheckMyVIN's. AI summaries are made available for non-commercial reuse with attribution; the maintenance database and editorial content are not licensed for redistribution.

7. Trademarks

All vehicle brand names, model names, engine designations, and logos referenced on this site are the property of their respective owners. CheckMyVIN is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by any vehicle manufacturer, dealer, or insurance provider. We only describe vehicles using publicly available federal data and editorial commentary.

8. Warranty disclaimer

CheckMyVIN is provided as-is, without warranty of any kind, express or implied. We do not warrant that the service will be uninterrupted, error-free, or that the data will be accurate, complete, or current. Use at your own risk.

9. Limitation of liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, CheckMyVIN and its operator shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, including but not limited to lost profits, lost data, or damages resulting from purchase decisions made based on a report.

10. Changes to these terms

We may update these terms occasionally. Material changes will be posted with a new date at the top. Continued use of the site after changes constitutes acceptance.

11. Contact

kimicode@hotmail.com — questions, partnership inquiries, API access requests, terms questions.