Developer API

Free, open API to query the VehFinder stolen vehicle register. JSON responses. No sign-up required for basic access.

Overview

The VehFinder API provides read-only access to the community stolen vehicle register. All endpoints return JSON. No authentication is required for basic access — just make HTTP GET requests.

Free

No API key required

100 req/15min

Per IP address

JSON

All responses

Base URL: https://vehfinder.com/api/v1

Search by plate or VIN GET

        GET /api/v1/search?q={plate_or_vin}
      

Search the register for a registration plate or VIN. Returns all matching active and recovered reports.

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`q`	string	Yes	Registration plate or VIN. Spaces are ignored. Case insensitive.

Example request

curl https://vehfinder.com/api/v1/search?q=AB12XYZ

Example response

{
  "success": true,
  "query": "AB12XYZ",
  "count": 1,
  "data": [
    {
      "id": "f622f22b-c275-4635-890c-128825046bb7",
      "plate": "AB12 XYZ",
      "make": "Ford",
      "model": "Focus ST",
      "colour": "Silver",
      "year": 2019,
      "status": "active",
      "location": "Manchester, United Kingdom",
      "country": "GB",
      "stolen_at": "2026-04-01T00:00:00.000Z",
      "reported_at": "2026-04-01T09:14:22.000Z",
      "sighting_count": 2,
      "verified": false,
      "url": "https://vehfinder.com/report/f622f22b-c275-4635-890c-128825046bb7"
    }
  ],
  "_links": { "docs": "https://vehfinder.com/api" }
}

Get report by ID GET

        GET /api/v1/report/{id}
      

Get full details of a specific report including recent sightings. IDs are UUIDs returned by the search endpoint.

Example request

curl https://vehfinder.com/api/v1/report/f622f22b-c275-4635-890c-128825046bb7

Example response

{
  "success": true,
  "data": {
    "id": "f622f22b-c275-4635-890c-128825046bb7",
    "plate": "AB12 XYZ",
    "make": "Ford",
    "model": "Focus ST",
    "colour": "Silver",
    "year": 2019,
    "status": "active",
    "location": "Manchester, United Kingdom",
    "country": "GB",
    "details": "Has a dent on the rear bumper and a parking permit sticker on the windscreen.",
    "stolen_at": "2026-04-01T00:00:00.000Z",
    "reported_at": "2026-04-01T09:14:22.000Z",
    "verified": false,
    "sighting_count": 2,
    "recent_sightings": [
      {
        "location": "Trafford Centre, Manchester",
        "notes": "Seen parked near entrance B",
        "created_at": "2026-04-02T14:23:00.000Z"
      }
    ],
    "url": "https://vehfinder.com/report/f622f22b-c275-4635-890c-128825046bb7"
  }
}

Recent reports GET

        GET /api/v1/recent?limit={n}&country={code}
      

Returns the most recently filed reports. Optionally filter by ISO country code.

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`limit`	integer	No	Number of results (default 10, max 50)
`country`	string	No	ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country code e.g. GB, US, AU

Example request

curl "https://vehfinder.com/api/v1/recent?limit=5&country=GB"

Platform statistics GET

        GET /api/v1/stats
      

Example response

{
  "success": true,
  "data": {
    "active_reports": 142,
    "recovered_reports": 38,
    "total_reports": 180,
    "total_sightings": 412,
    "sightings_last_30_days": 87,
    "countries": 12,
    "contributors": 203
  }
}

Rate limits & errors

Rate limits

The public API is limited to 100 requests per 15 minutes per IP address. If you need higher limits for a commercial integration, contact admin@vehfinder.com.

Rate limit headers are included in every response:

RateLimit-Limit: 100
RateLimit-Remaining: 87
RateLimit-Reset: 427

Error responses

All errors return a consistent JSON structure:

{
  "success": false,
  "error": "Query parameter q is required.",
  "code": "MISSING_PARAM",
  "_links": { "docs": "https://vehfinder.com/api" }
}

Code	HTTP Status	Meaning
`MISSING_PARAM`	400	Required parameter missing or invalid
`NOT_FOUND`	404	Report not found or hidden
`INVALID_KEY`	401	API key provided but not recognised
`RATE_LIMITED`	429	Rate limit exceeded

Commercial use & higher rate limits

If you're integrating VehFinder into a garage management system, insurance platform, or other commercial product, contact us for an API key with higher rate limits and priority support.

admin@vehfinder.com