Overview
Data is sourced from the NHTSA vPIC database, the official US vehicle identification record, and is refreshed with each monthly release. Covers vehicles manufactured for sale in the United States.
Formula
One function covers the whole catalog: the first argument names the source, the rest are its inputs, and the "field" pair says which single value lands in the cell. Formulas covers the grammar that applies to all of them.
=VERVE("vindecoder", A2, "field", "valid")=VERVE.CALL("vindecoder", A2, "field", "valid")A2 holds the vin you are looking up. Drag the formula down and each row resolves on its own.
With literal values
Nothing has to come from a cell — typed values work the same way.
=VERVE("vindecoder", "1HGCM82633A004352", "field", "valid")=VERVE.CALL("vindecoder", "1HGCM82633A004352", "field", "valid")Inputs
Required inputs are positional, in the order below. Everything else is passed as a "name", value pair after them — the same shape as SUMIFS. Premium inputs are accepted on every plan but only take effect on plans that include them.
| Input | Type | Where it goes | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
vinRequired | string | argument 2 (A2) | The Vehicle Identification Number to decode. Partial VINs are accepted and decode as far as the available characters allow. length 1–17 |
What lands in your sheet
The "field" pair is what makes the formula resolve to one cell. Its value is a dot-path from the table below, so swapping it is how you pull a different value — one formula per column.
Seeing everything at once
Drop the "field" pair and the formula returns the whole response instead: two columns, field name on the left and value on the right, spilling from the cell you typed in.
=VERVE("vindecoder", A2)=VERVE.CALL("vindecoder", A2)The second row's table would land on top of the first's, and every cell after the first reads #REF! (#SPILL! in Excel). Keep one per sheet, or name a field, and leave the cells below and to the right empty.
Response fields
Paths are relative to data. Each one is exactly what the "field" pair accepts, so swapping it is how you pull a different value into a cell. On a plan without a Premium field the cell reads #PREMIUM(field) rather than a value, so a locked field never looks like a real answer.
| Use as "field" | Type | Example cell value | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
vin | string | 1HGCM82633A004352 | The VIN that was decoded, normalized to uppercase |
valid | boolean | true | Whether the VIN passes all NHTSA checks, including the check digit True only when the decode is completely clean (error code 0). A VIN with a mistyped check digit returns false here but may still decode to a real vehicle — read `decoded` for that. |
decoded | boolean | true | Whether the VIN resolved to an identifiable vehicle True when a make was identified. Independent of `valid`: an imperfect VIN can still decode. |
vehicleDescriptor | string | 1HGCM826*3A | The portion of the VIN that identifies the vehicle build, with variable positions masked |
make | string | HONDA | Vehicle manufacturer or brand name |
model | string | Accord | Vehicle model name |
year | number | 2003 | Model year of the vehicle |
trimPremium | string | EX-V6 | Trim level or variant of the model |
trim2Premium | object | null | Secondary trim designation where the manufacturer provides one |
seriesPremium | object | null | Series designation of the vehicle |
series2Premium | object | null | Secondary series designation where the manufacturer provides one |
manufacturer | string | AMERICAN HONDA MOTOR CO., INC. | Full legal name of the manufacturing company |
vehicleType | string | PASSENGER CAR | Broad vehicle classification, such as passenger car or truck |
bodyClass | string | Coupe | Body style of the vehicle, such as coupe or sedan |
plantPremium | object | {…} | Manufacturing plant that built the vehicle, including city, state, country and company |
plant.countryPremium | string | UNITED STATES (USA) | |
plant.cityPremium | string | MARYSVILLE | |
plant.statePremium | string | OHIO | |
enginePremium | object | {…} | Engine specifications, including displacement, cylinder count, configuration, horsepower, fuel type and electrification level Fields present vary by vehicle. Electric vehicles report electrification level and motor detail in place of displacement and cylinders. |
engine.displacementLPremium | string | 2.998832712 | |
engine.displacementCcPremium | string | 2998.832712 | |
engine.displacementCiPremium | string | 183 | |
engine.engineNumberOfCylindersPremium | string | 6 | |
engine.engineBrakeHpFromPremium | string | 240 | |
engine.engineConfigurationPremium | string | V-Shaped | |
engine.engineModelPremium | string | J30A4 | |
engine.valveTrainDesignPremium | string | Single Overhead Cam (SOHC) | |
engine.fuelTypePrimaryPremium | string | Gasoline | |
features | object | {…} | Equipment fitted to this build, grouped by area A container. The grouped objects inside it are premium. Fields absent from NHTSA's record for a given vehicle are omitted rather than returned empty. |
features.exteriorPremium | object | {…} | Exterior attributes including body, doors, dimensions, weight rating, wheels, and truck, bus, trailer or motorcycle specifics |
features.exterior.doorsPremium | string | 2 | |
features.exterior.grossVehicleWeightRatingFromPremium | string | Class 1C: 4,001 - 5,000 lb (1,814 - 2,268 kg) | |
features.exterior.grossVehicleWeightRatingToPremium | string | Class 1: 6,000 lb or less (2,722 kg or less) | |
features.mechanicalPremium | object | {…} | Mechanical attributes including transmission, drivetrain, brakes and battery |
features.mechanical.transmissionStylePremium | string | Automatic | |
features.mechanical.transmissionSpeedsPremium | string | 5 | |
features.passiveSafetySystemPremium | object | {…} | Passive safety equipment including air bag locations and seat belt type |
features.passiveSafetySystem.seatBeltTypePremium | string | Manual | |
features.passiveSafetySystem.otherRestraintSystemInfoPremium | string | Seat Belt (Rr center position) | |
features.passiveSafetySystem.frontAirBagLocationsPremium | string | 1st Row (Driver and Passenger) | |
features.passiveSafetySystem.sideAirBagLocationsPremium | string | 1st Row (Driver and Passenger) | |
features.passiveSafetySystem.curtainAirBagLocationsPremium | string | 1st and 2nd Rows | |
validation | object | {…} | Decode diagnostics reported by NHTSA |
validation.errorCode | string | 0 | NHTSA error code or codes for the decode, as a comma-separated string "0" means the VIN decoded clean. Multiple codes are returned together, for example "1,7,11". |
validation.errorCodes | array | ["0"] | The same NHTSA error codes split into an array for programmatic handling |
validation.errorText | string | 0 - VIN decoded clean. Check Digit (9th position) is correct | Human-readable explanation of each error code returned |
Filling a whole column
Both platforms make one batched call for a column rather than one request per cell, and both cost the same — 10 credits per row looked up. How you write it differs, because the two runtimes batch at different points.
=VERVE("vindecoder", A2:A100, "field", "valid")In Google Sheets, give the arguments ranges and the answers spill down from the cell you typed in. Custom functions there run synchronously and in isolation, so dragged cells cannot be coalesced — the range form is how a column becomes one call. The "field" pair is required here: a per-row two-column table has nowhere to spill. Use a full column per input (A2:A100, not A2) — a single-cell reference is read as row 1 only and the rest of the column comes back blank.
In Excel, type the formula once and fill down — no range form and none needed, because its runtime is asynchronous and the add-in coalesces the calls a fill produces into a single batched request. Do not hand VERVE.CALL a range: Excel flattens it into positional arguments, so A2:A100 arrives as a hundred separate arguments and the cell reads #ERR rather than filling.
Either way, column A holds your vin values and the answers land beside them, one row each, blank rows skipped.
When a cell doesn't fill
A failed lookup returns readable text starting with #ERR rather than a spreadsheet error, because Excel cannot show a custom message on a real error — you would get a bare #VALUE! with no reason. The trade-off is that IFERROR() will not catch it; test with LEFT(cell, 4) = "#ERR" instead. Error handling covers the rest.
| Cell reads | What happened |
|---|---|
#ERR Not connected | No API key saved. Open the side panel and connect your account. |
#ERR Replace <name> with a cell or value | A preview formula was copied as-is. Swap the placeholder for a cell reference. |
#ERR No "x" in vindecoder | An option name this source does not take. The message lists the ones it does. |
#ERR No data point "…" | The "field" path is not in the response. Check it against the table above. |
#PREMIUM(field) | The field exists but your plan does not include it. |
#ERR Out of credits | The cycle's credits are spent. Usage resets on your billing date. |
Before the formula works
The add-in reads the API key you saved once in the side panel — the key never goes in the formula, so a shared sheet does not leak it and a collaborator without access simply sees the last calculated values.
- Install the add-in for Google Sheets or Excel.
- Open the side panel and sign in, or paste a key from your dashboard.
- Type the formula above into any cell.
Other ways to use Decode VINs
Set up Decode VINs on VerveSheets, or reach the same source a different way. Your VerveSheets account and credits work on all of them — one key, one balance.
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