FAQ about VIN checks and Certcar reports.

The VIN is a car's unique identification code. In most cases it has 17 characters and contains information about the manufacturer, model and configuration. Certcar uses it to search for the available data about the vehicle's history.

The VIN can be found in the registration certificate, in the vehicle identity card or directly on the car, usually at the bottom of the windscreen, on the door pillar or in the engine bay.

Yes. To generate the report you only need the VIN. The car's registration number is not required.

Check that you have entered all 17 characters and that you have not mixed up letters and digits. For example, the digit “0” can be confused with the letter “O”. Some older vehicles may have VINs in a different format.

Yes. You can ask the seller for the VIN and generate the report before the viewing. This way you can spot potential damage, mileage inconsistencies or other important information in advance.

17 characters, letters and digits, on cars built since the early 1980s. The letters I, O and Q are not used, so they can't be confused with 1 and 0.

No. The number plate changes when the car is registered in another country or to another owner. The VIN stays the same for the car's whole life, which is why the history is searched by VIN.

Sometimes. On many makes, position 10 shows the model year, but many European makes don't use it that way. The exact year is on the registration document, under the date of first registration, and in the car's data.

Don't pay anything. Ask for an explanation and the original documents. If in doubt, ask the vehicle registration authority or the police to check it before you buy.

No. Nobody can register or sell the car with just the VIN. A genuine seller will send it to you before the viewing without any fuss.

Depending on the data available for the vehicle, the report can include damage and accidents, mileage, service history, previous photos, factory equipment, commercial use, theft checks, service recalls, emissions, a market valuation and ITP information.

The report is generated automatically once payment is confirmed, usually within 1–3 minutes. You see it on screen as it fills in, and it stays saved in your account.

The report can be accessed directly from your Certcar account. All purchased reports remain saved in your account so you can consult them later.

Yes. The report can be accessed from a phone, tablet or computer, without installing an app.

Yes. The report can be viewed online and downloaded to keep or share.

The report stays available in your Certcar account for 30 days after it is generated. You can open it, download it as a PDF or share it at any time during that period.

Certcar checks cars from dozens of countries. How rich the history is depends on the country of origin, the car's age and where it was maintained. You see the make and model for free before you pay.

Yes. Certcar checks sources from several countries and can also be used for imported cars. Coverage and available information may vary from one country to another.

No. The report shows the car's available history, but it cannot identify the current technical condition or problems that were never recorded. We recommend using the report together with a physical inspection at an authorised workshop.

The car's make, model and year, so you can confirm it is the car in the ad. You only pay if you want the full history report.

That no records exist for that part of the history in the sources we checked. The data available differs from car to car and from country to country, so you fill that gap with paperwork and an inspection.

The VIN stays the same, so the earlier history is kept. After registration, the report can also include the Romanian ITP inspection and the mileage readings from the Romanian vehicle register.

Certcar compares the mileage values available in the vehicle's history and displays them chronologically. This way you can see how the mileage evolved and spot any inconsistencies.

A value lower than a previous record may indicate a possible mileage alteration. However, some differences can also come from data entry errors, a replaced instrument cluster or other situations that require further checks.

Records can come from the service history, technical inspections, automotive databases and other sources available for the checked vehicle. Sources and coverage vary by country and car.

The car may not have been recorded in the available sources, or it may have been maintained at workshops that do not share such data. The absence of records does not confirm the mileage shown by the car.

We found a reading at least 5,000 km lower than an earlier one, after removing obvious errors. Ask the seller for explanations and documents before you pay.

We remove obvious errors, such as an extra digit or two different values on the same day. For cars with a great many readings we keep the first and last, the highest and lowest of each year and every drop.

It's a good sign. Confirm it at the viewing: the car's wear and the mileage on invoices must match the last reading in the report.

Enter the VIN in Certcar. If there are damage events in the sources we check, they will be shown in the report together with the available details.

The report can include the date of the event, the country, the affected areas, the level of damage, the estimated value and photos, when this information is available.

The value may represent an estimate made at the time of the assessment, not necessarily the final repair cost. The actual price can vary depending on parts, labour, country and repair method.

Yes, if images associated with the VIN have been identified. They can come from listings, auctions or previously recorded events.

Not necessarily. The report shows the events that exist in the sources we check. Damage repaired without being declared or recorded may not appear. That is why we also recommend a physical inspection of the car.

Not automatically. What matters is the severity of the damage, the affected areas and the quality of the repair. The report helps you identify what to check more carefully before making a decision.

Yes. Damage found in other countries appears with the country, date, affected parts and estimated cost, so you also see what happened to the car before it was imported.

The car was written off: the repair was considered too expensive compared with its value. Some of these cars are repaired and put back on sale, so they deserve a careful check and a lower price.

Yes, if information is available. The report can include the dates of the interventions, the recorded mileage and the types of operations performed.

Not all workshops share information with the databases we check. Work done independently or at certain unauthorised workshops may not appear in the car's history.

From the service records of garages and dealers that share data, from Romanian technical inspections for cars registered there, and from damage claims. Visits to garages that don't share data don't appear.

Yes. The work is translated into the report's language, even when it was recorded in another language in the country of origin. Long descriptions are sometimes summarised; the full details stay on the invoice.

No. Garage names and other data that could identify people don't appear in the report. You see the date, country, mileage and work done.

No, it complements it. Put them side by side: a visit stamped in the book that doesn't appear in the report can be confirmed with the garage invoice.

Yes. Certcar checks the VIN against the stolen vehicle databases it has access to. Coverage varies by country.

Police databases and stolen vehicle registers from several countries. The exact list checked for your car appears in the Theft check section of the report.

No. A very recent theft may not have reached the databases yet, and the databases checked don't cover every country. Also compare the VIN in the papers with the one on the car, and the report data with the car in front of you.

Don't pay a deposit and don't sign anything. Ask the seller for documents showing the car was recovered and the report was closed, then check with the police. If the car looks stolen, report it to the police.

It can. An old report may stay in the history after recovery, which is why the report shows the date of the record. You confirm the current situation with the papers and with the police.

A stolen car carrying the VIN of a legal car of the same model. The VIN check comes back clean, because the VIN belongs to the legal car. You spot it when the report data (engine, drivetrain, colour) doesn't match the car, or when the VINs on the car differ from each other.

For vehicles registered in Romania, the report can include the available information about the periodic technical inspection (ITP).

Only for cars registered in Romania, because the data comes from the Romanian vehicle register. For a recently imported car not yet registered there, the section doesn't appear.

No. You check that country's inspection in the car's local papers. The report shows instead what has been recorded for the VIN: mileage, service and damage, depending on the data available.

Each inspection records the odometer reading. In the report, these readings appear next to those from garages and other countries, and a drop against an older reading is flagged.

Not on public roads. A car with an expired inspection isn't allowed on the road. If the seller suggests a test drive anyway, ask for an inspection first.

No. The report shows the last technical inspection and its validity for cars registered in Romania, but it is not an official RAR Auto-Pass certificate.

The value is an indicative estimate based on the vehicle's characteristics, mileage and available market data. The final price can vary depending on condition, equipment, maintenance and demand at the time of sale.

Two cars with the same data sell at different prices depending on condition, equipment and seller. The range shows where a price usually falls and where it becomes low or high.

Yes. The mileage and damage found in the history move the price up or down. Their details are in the same report, as arguments for negotiating.

Yes, the values include VAT, so you can compare them directly with prices in listings.

The market value appears when there are enough similar cars for an estimate. If there aren't, the section is left out and the rest of the report stays complete.

No. The value is a guide, not an offer to buy or sell. You agree the final price with the seller.

Yes, for the makes and models covered. The report can show the engine, the configuration and the equipment the car was built with.

The build sheet shows the vehicle's original configuration, including the engine, the colour and the factory-installed equipment, depending on the information available for that make.

Yes. The report includes a commercial use check: taxi, rental or fleet. Next to it you see the yearly mileage pace from the mileage chart, which shows how hard the car has been used.

Any authorised dealer of the brand can confirm the status of a recall from the VIN.

Certcar is an online platform from Romania for checking the history of used cars by VIN. The report brings together mileage, damage, service history, a theft check, the Romanian ITP inspection and the estimated market value, depending on the data found for the car.

No. Certcar provides history reports and a free VIN decoder. It does not sell or broker cars.

From several types of sources: damage databases, service records, the Romanian vehicle register, stolen vehicle databases, sale listings and manufacturing data linked to the VIN. The market value is an estimate, not a record.

For each piece of information you see what matters when checking the car: the type of record, the country, the date and the mileage, where available. Data providers' names don't appear in the report.

The history depends on the countries the car has been through, its age, where it was maintained and how repairs were reported. For some cars we find many records, for others only a few.

A Certcar account lets you buy reports, use your available credits and find all the checks you have made in one place.

The price is shown before you confirm the order. The cost can vary depending on the type of report or the credit package you choose.

Payment is made online, by card, through a secure system. Once the payment is confirmed, the report is generated automatically.

First check the reports section in your account. If the report does not appear or the generation did not complete, contact the Certcar team and send the VIN and the email address used for the order.

Contact the Certcar team and send the VIN you entered, the correct VIN and the email address used for the order. Our team will review the situation and the available options.

The number of records varies from one car to another and cannot be guaranteed. A report with less data is not automatically incomplete if all the included checks were performed. Requests are reviewed according to the Certcar Terms and conditions, and may be resolved by crediting your account if the situation meets the applicable conditions.

Payments are processed by a specialised provider. Certcar does not receive or store full card details.

Yes. You can buy a credit package and check several cars from the same account. This is useful when you are comparing several vehicles before buying.

You can send us a message through the contact form or directly at support@certcar.com. For issues related to a report, include the VIN and the email address used for the order.

Yes. Certcar offers dedicated solutions for car dealers, used car lots, fleets and companies that check vehicles frequently.

Business accounts can benefit from centralised access to reports, packages adapted to volume and simpler management of the checks performed.

Yes. The offer can be adapted to the estimated number of checks. For a personalised proposal, you can contact us through the business page.

Yes. Dealers and used car lots can use Certcar to check vehicles before purchase, intake or listing.

Multi-user access depends on the configuration of the business account. The Certcar team can help you choose the right solution for your company.

Fill in the form on the “For business” page and tell us your estimated volume of checks. The Certcar team will get back to you with a tailored offer.

The affiliate program lets you recommend Certcar to your community and earn a commission on the orders placed through your affiliate code or link.

The program is aimed at content creators, publications, automotive communities, dealers and other partners who can recommend Certcar services to a relevant audience.

Fill in the sign-up form on the “Affiliate program” page. After reviewing your request, the Certcar team will send you the information needed to activate your account.

Orders are tracked through your personal affiliate code or link. Your activity and results can be viewed in the affiliate account dashboard.

In the affiliate dashboard you can track eligible orders and accumulated commissions.

Eligible commissions are calculated and paid monthly, according to the terms of the affiliate program.

Depending on the type of collaboration, partners can receive a personalised code to share with their community.

You can use your link or code in online content, articles, videos and social media posts, in line with the program terms and the Certcar visual identity.

Certcar materials and logo may be used only under the conditions communicated by the Certcar team and without altering the brand's visual identity.

Send us information about your activity, the platforms you use and the size of your community. The Certcar team will review your proposal and get back to you with a collaboration option.