Frequently Asked Questions

Your VIN is essential for:

• Verifying vehicle history
• Checking for recalls and safety issues
• Confirming insurance coverage
• Processing registration with authorities
• Ensuring you're purchasing a legitimate vehicle

The VIN appears in multiple locations on your vehicle and serves as its unique identifier throughout its entire lifecycle.

European Type Approvalis a comprehensive certification process that ensures vehicles meet all safety, environmental, and technical regulations before they can be sold in the European market.

This certification verifies that your vehicle complies with over 70 different EU directives covering everything from:

The Type Approval number(often starting with 'e' or 'E' followed by a country code)confirms your vehicle meets these harmonized standards, which is particularly critical when importing vehicles or purchasing used cars from other countries.

<strong>Passenger Cars:</strong> Check the front of the dashboard on the driver's side. You can see it from outside the vehicle through the windshield. Also inspect the driver's door pillar and under the hood. On older cars, the <strong class='text-indigo-600'>VIN</strong> may be located at the front end of the chassis.

<strong>Motorcycles:</strong> Usually found on the steering neck below the handlebars, or sometimes on the engine or frame near the engine.

<strong>Semi-Trailers:</strong> Check the front left side of the trailer.

The <strong class='text-indigo-600'>VIN</strong> is also listed on your insurance or vehicle inspection sticker.

Our comprehensive vehicle database covers over 95% of vehicles manufactured for European and North American markets from 1981 to present, including cars, trucks, motorcycles, and commercial vehicles.

Our database includes detailed information for both current production and discontinued models.

Our system is constantly updated as manufacturers release new models, ensuring the most current vehicle information is always available to our users.

Why our approach is more accurate:

• Direct access to government homologation databases instead of approximating data from VIN patterns
• Complete technical specifications from original type approval documentation
• Exact manufacturer-supplied data used for official vehicle registration
• Includes specialized data points not available through standard VIN decoding

Our authoritative data sources:

• Official governmental vehicle registration agencies
• European Type Approval certification authorities
• National transportation departments' homologation records
• Swiss Federal Roads Office (OFROU) databases

By using official homologation data rather than VIN decoding algorithms, we provide the most accurate, comprehensive, and legally recognized vehicle specifications available. This is particularly valuable for official documentation, technical assessments, and compliance verification.

Our free VIN lookup service provides an extensive vehicle report including:

The code contains embedded information about:

• The approving country
• Applicable directive version
• Base approval number
• Extension level

By checking your vehicle's Type Approval status, you can verify its legal compliance with:

• Road safety regulations
• Emissions standards
• Noise limits

This verification is particularly valuable when importing vehicles, confirming modifications are within legal parameters, or resolving registration issues with transportation authorities.

However, creating a free account unlocks significant additional benefits:

• Increased daily search limit (up to 100 free searches)
• Saved search history for easy reference during vehicle shopping
• Downloadable CSV export for your records
• Access to our vehicle specs database search by make/model