Free VIN check · Canada
Check a car by its VIN — free
What the car is, its recall campaigns and its service history if the owner keeps a Car Passport. Then, for what no free check can see, the official place to look.
What a free check cannot see — and where to look
- Is it reported stolen?
The Canadian Police Information Centre lets anyone search a VIN for free. It answers one question only: is a theft report on file.
CPIC — search vehicles - Open recalls for this exact car
A model campaign does not tell you whether this VIN is affected or already repaired. Manufacturers check by VIN; Transport Canada lists where.
Transport Canada — manufacturer VIN lookups - Money owed on the car (Alberta)
A lien search on the VIN through a registry agent (the Personal Property Registry). A lender with a registered lien can pursue the car even after you have paid the seller.
Alberta.ca — find a personal property registration - Registration history (Alberta)
A Vehicle Information Report from a registry agent describes the vehicle’s registration history in Alberta.
Alberta.ca — buying from a private seller - Accidents, insurance claims, other provinces
Paid history reports compile records from motor vehicle agencies, insurers, collision-repair facilities and auctions.
CARFAX Canada — where its data comes from - Came from the US?
US title history — salvage and other title brands — is sold through approved providers of the US National Motor Vehicle Title Information System.
NMVTIS — vehicle history for consumers
Questions
Is this really free?
Yes. Decoding and recall campaigns come from public registries and need no account. If the car has a Car Passport, opening its full history takes a free account — no card, no paid upgrade.
Is this a CARFAX replacement?
No. This check does not see accidents, insurance claims, liens or registrations. It tells you what the car is, which model campaigns exist, and whether the owner keeps a service history with us — and then where to check the rest.
Where does the data come from?
The VIN is decoded by NHTSA’s vPIC registry. Japanese chassis numbers are read from our own chassis-code table. Recall campaigns come from NHTSA. Service history comes only from a Car Passport its owner chose to make public.
Do you keep the VIN I check?
We do not save it. Your browser sends it to NHTSA to decode it and to our database to look for a public passport.