US vehicle history · from $9.99
Know the car's past before you pay for it
Enter a VIN and get the car's history in one report: odometer readings in miles, police-reported crashes, salvage and auction history with photos, title brands, recalls and the factory specs. Records from all states, where available.
Have only the plate? Look it up by license plate
- Records from all states
- No account, no survey
Full report $9.99. One payment, no subscription.
See a real sample report
What we check before you buy
Every report decodes the VIN and searches each of these record types for that exact car, in all states. Records are included where available, and every section of the report says what it searched.
Odometer history, in miles
Dated odometer readings from state safety and emissions inspections and from auction sales, where available. If a later reading is lower than an earlier one, the report flags it and shows both readings.
All statesPolice-reported traffic crash (New York, 2021)
The car is listed in a police crash report. The record does not say how bad the damage was or who was at fault.
Police-reported crashes
Crashes a police officer filed a report for, matched on this VIN, plus damage recorded when the car was sold at auction, where available. No record is not proof the car was never damaged, and the report says so.
All states
Auction photos, where the lot has themSalvage and insurance auctions, with photos
Each salvage or insurance auction sale of the VIN, where available: sale date, damage type, title as listed, odometer at sale, price and the auction photos.
All states
AIR BAGS: FRONTAL: DRIVER SIDE: INFLATOR MODULE
Campaign 23V334000 · model-level
Safety recalls and owner complaints
Safety recalls, owner complaints and service bulletins published by NHTSA for the make, model and model year. They are labeled model-level, because they are not records of this one car.
Model-level, most US models
Factory specs from the VIN
Model year, make, model, trim, engine, transmission, drivetrain, body and the plant that built the car, decoded from the VIN, so you can check the listing matches the car.
Every VIN
Title as listed at auction: salvage, rebuilt, floodSalvage, rebuilt and flood titles
Salvage, rebuilt, flood and junk title brands listed when the car was sold at a salvage or insurance auction, where available, shown with the auction record. Cars written off after a flood or a crash are often repaired and sold again.
Match the VIN on the dashboard, door jamb and titleTheft and cloned VINs
Stolen cars are often resold under a cloned VIN. The report decodes the VIN to its factory build, so you can check it matches the dashboard, the door jamb and the title, and its title, theft and ownership section says exactly what was searched.
Public records, matched on the exact VIN
Where the records come from
Every report is built from government records and vehicle auction records from all states, matched on the full 17-character VIN. Records are included where available, and every section of the report says what it searched.
NHTSA
Federal safety recalls, owner complaints and service bulletins, and the factory decode of the VIN.
Model-level, most US models
State DMV inspection records
Dated odometer readings with the safety and emissions result of each inspection.
All states
Police crash reports
Crashes a police officer filed a report for, with the year of the crash.
All states
Salvage and insurance auction records
Sale date, damage, title as listed, odometer at sale, price and photos.
All states
How it works
Four steps, about a minute. You check the decoded car before you pay anything.
Step 1
Enter the VIN
17 characters, from the dashboard, door jamb or title.
Step 2
Check the decoded car
A free decode with the year, make, model and factory specs, so you know the VIN matches the car in front of you.
Step 3
Pay once
$9.99 by card, Apple Pay or Google Pay. No account, no subscription.
Step 4
Read the full report
It opens right after payment. Keep the link to come back to it any time.
Why check a VIN before you buy
A seller can tell you anything. Public records cannot be talked into a better story.
Odometer fraud
NHTSA estimates that more than 450,000 vehicles are sold each year with false odometer readings, costing American car buyers more than $1 billion a year.1
Undisclosed crash damage
A car can look clean and still appear in a police crash report. The report lists the police-reported crashes we hold for the VIN, with the year.
Salvage and flood cars resold
Cars written off after a crash or flood are repaired and sold again. Auction records show the damage and the title the car was sold with.
Open safety recalls
Recall repairs are free at a franchised dealer, but not every owner gets them done. The report lists every recall published for the model.
1 NHTSA, “Odometer Fraud”, nhtsa.gov/equipment/odometer-fraud.
Ready to check your car?
Enter the VIN, check the decoded car, then open the full report.
Compare before you buy a report
List prices for a vehicle history report on each company's US website: one report, and each company's multi-report packs.
| Feature | Carlytics | Carfax | carVertical |
|---|---|---|---|
| One report | $9.99 | $49.99 | $34.99 |
| Multi-report packs | 3 for $19.99 · 5 for $29.99 | 2 for $69.99 · 4 for $119.99 | 2 for $49.98 · 3 for $59.97 |
Prices checked on carfax.com and carvertical.com on Oct 24, 2026: list prices in USD for reports bought on their US websites, before any tax or promotion code. Prices can change. Carlytics is not affiliated with Carfax or carVertical; Carfax and carVertical are trademarks of their respective owners.
Sample vehicle history report
A real report for a real car: a 2017 Chevrolet Traverse with five New York inspection readings and one police-reported crash. Click through the tabs, or open the full sample.
2017 Chevrolet Traverse
1LT · 3.6 L V6 · Gasoline · AWD/All-Wheel Drive
Vehicle information
- Make
- Chevrolet
- Model
- Traverse
- Model year
- 2017
- Trim
- 1LT
- Engine
- 3.6 L V6
- Fuel
- Gasoline
- Transmission
- 6-speed Automatic
- Drive
- AWD/All-Wheel Drive
Vehicle summary
Latest odometer reading
104,351 mi at a New York State inspection on Mar 26, 2026.
Odometer check
No odometer decrease across 5 dated readings.
Police-reported crash
Listed in a New York police crash report in 2021. The record does not say how bad the damage was.
3 safety recalls for this model
Model-level: published for the 2017 Chevrolet Traverse. Ask a dealer whether they were repaired on this car.
State inspections
Each New York State inspection on record for this VIN, with the odometer and the result.
Mar 26, 2026
NY State inspection · 104,351 mi
Safety PassEmissions PassFeb 26, 2025
NY State inspection · 95,000 mi
Safety PassEmissions PassFeb 20, 2024
NY State inspection · 76,484 mi
Safety PassEmissions PassFeb 9, 2023
NY State inspection · 68,765 mi
Safety PassEmissions PassJan 4, 2022
NY State inspection · 61,141 mi
Safety PassEmissions Pass
Odometer readings over time
Miles at each dated reading. A reading lower than an earlier one would be drawn in red.
What this report flags
Police-reported crash
Listed in a New York police crash report in 2021. The record does not say how bad the damage was.
AIR BAGS: FRONTAL: DRIVER SIDE: INFLATOR MODULE
Campaign 23V334000 · May 10, 2023 · model-level
AIR BAGS: FRONTAL
Campaign 21V782000 · Oct 7, 2021 · model-level
AIR BAGS: CRITICAL FASTENERS
Campaign 21V246000 · Apr 8, 2021 · model-level
Title brands and theft records Not checked in this report
Where a section was not searched, the report says so instead of calling the car clear.
Questions buyers ask
What do I see before I pay?
The decoded year, make, model and factory specs for that VIN, so you can check it matches the car, and every section the full report covers. You pay once and the full report opens right away.
What does a vehicle history report not show?
Repairs paid in cash and never reported to police, an insurer or an auction do not appear in any vehicle history report, ours included. We are not an NMVTIS data provider. Always get a pre-purchase inspection from an independent mechanic.
How is this different from Carfax?
Carfax lists one report at $49.99 on its US website (checked Oct 24, 2026). Ours is $9.99, paid once with no account. Carfax holds service records from repair shops that we do not, so if service history is what you need, it may be worth the extra cost.
Is the model year correct?
We read the model year from the 10th character of the VIN and cross-check it against the decoded build data, so you see the model year the manufacturer assigned, not a guess from the first time a record appeared.
How do I pay?
By card, Apple Pay or Google Pay through Stripe. There is no account to create, no survey and no CAPTCHA. The report opens right after payment.
Can I check several cars?
Yes. A 3-report pack is $19.99 and a 5-report pack is $29.99. Unused reports stay on your email address.
Can I search by license plate?
Yes. Enter the plate and the state in our license plate lookup: we find the car's VIN in seconds and open the same history report as a VIN search. You can also enter the VIN from the driver-side dashboard, the driver door jamb, the title or the insurance card.
Check the VIN before you hand over the money
Enter the VIN, check the decoded car, then open the full report for $9.99.
Card, Apple Pay or Google Pay through Stripe.