Six reportable event types

Lien & Theft Check API

Check a US VIN before you fund or buy it.

  • Open liens, with the lienholder named
  • Active and recovered theft records
  • Export, tow and impound events
  • State and date on every event
Test APIDocumentation
Lien & Theft Check API

Our benefits

The check that happens before the money moves.

More than lien and theft

Six event types, including export out of the country, tow and impound, and a for-sale record, each with the state and date reported.

Integrate in minutes

One VIN, one GET. Copy the request from the panel below, add your key, and the first check runs in minutes.

People who know the sources

A free sandbox, a documented response, and support that will tell you which jurisdictions report thinly before you write a funding rule around it.

The lienholder by name

An open lien returns the lienholder as the source supplied it, so a payoff call can start from the response instead of a title search.

For developers

One VIN, every reportable event.

The panel on the right is a real request and the response it returns, including a theft record with its state and date. Scroll it to see the event shape, then copy the request into your terminal and swap in a VIN of your own.

Branch on event, read details
Switch on the event label, then render details_list for the source text behind it.
Empty is not clear
A missing events array means no record reached us, not that the vehicle has none.
Vehicle context included
year, make, model and type come back decoded alongside the events, so you can confirm the VIN resolved.
Request
curl -G https://api.carsxe.com/v1/lien-theft \
  -d key=YOUR_API_KEY \
  -d vin=WBAFR7C57CC811956
Response
{
  "success": true,
  "input": { "vin": "WBAFR7C57CC811956" },
  "timestamp": "2026-09-14T11:04:22.000Z",
  "year": 2012,
  "make": "BMW",
  "model": "5 Series",
  "type": "CAR",
  "events": [
    {
      "event": "Recovered Theft",
      "location": "OH",
      "date": "03/14/2021",
      "details_list": [ "The vehicle is reported to be a recovered theft" ]
    }
  ]
}

For AI agents

Built into the AI tools you already use

Point your coding agent at the CarsXE MCP server and it can call the API on its own, no client library, no glue code. The same tools are available to chat agents over plain HTTP.

  • Claude Code
  • Cursor
  • GitHub Copilot
  • Grok Bot
  • Codex
  • Gemini
  • Hermes Agent
  • OpenClaw
  • opencode
  • & more
Explore integrations

One command. Register the CarsXE MCP server with your editor.

Claude Code
claude mcp add --transport http carsxe https://mcp.carsxe.com/mcp \
  --header "X-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY"
View the docs

Then just ask. The agent picks the right CarsXE tool and returns structured vehicle data.

Prompt
Check VIN WBAFR7C57CC811956 for liens or theft

Agent onboarding. Are you an AI agent? Fetch this skill to get an API key and start pulling vehicle data.

SKILL.md
curl -s https://carsxe.com/agent-onboarding/SKILL.md
View the skill

Fair billing

No data, no charge

A lookup we cannot resolve comes back as a 404 and costs you nothing. You are billed only when the API returns data.

Data found200 OK
Data found
{ "success": true, "year": 2012, "make": "BMW", "model": "5 Series", "events": [ { "event": "Open Lien", "location": "CA", "date": "06/11/2015" } ] }

Billed. One lookup.

No match404 Not Found
No match
{
  "success": false,
  "message": "No lien or theft data found for this VIN"
}

No charge.

Priced per answer, not per request.

United States only

Robust international support

This endpoint checks a US VIN. Reporting depth varies by jurisdiction, and a state that reports thinly will show fewer events.

United States

US

Customer stories

Companies love building with CarsXE

How teams build on CarsXE vehicle data.

“

CarsXE offers MotorTango's customers accurate and reliable vehicle data across many makes and models. Their VIN decoder and specs API are second to none.

Andy Liakos

CTO, MotorTango

“

The API is super easy to work with...it's a damn good API. And trust me, I deal with a lot of third parties and you're the creme de la creme. It's great. Documentation is sound, the result sets are sound. I have nothing to say but, man, it's too easy to work with.

Alan Deitch

Senior Engineering Leader, SpotHero

“

When a customer calls a dealership, we know they have an open recall instantly. That changes what the call is worth. Our agents book the recall alongside whatever the customer originally called about, and the dealer captures service work that used to walk out the door unnoticed. CarsXE's recall data is what makes that possible on every call, at every rooftop we run.

Samee Khan

Founder & CEO, PAM

“

With their VIN decoder and images, we can accurately document what's needed to perform repairs and ADAS calibrations, and we do it much more efficiently — saving dozens of minutes on every single repair. The result is consistent, reliable service at scale for all of our customers, backed by data we trust. CarsXE has become a critical part of our workflow and our ability to grow.

Philip Brossy

Founder & CEO, ADAS Safe

Same key, more endpoints

Keep building from the vehicle record

Vehicle History

Title, salvage and odometer records

Market Value

Wholesale and retail values by VIN

Vehicle Specifications

Full factory specs from a 17-character VIN

Ownership

Owner and address lookup, enterprise only

Vehicle Recalls

Open safety recalls by VIN

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Can't find the answer you're looking for? Reach out to our customer support team.

Decoded year, make, model and type for the VIN, plus an events array. Six event types are documented: open lien with the lienholder named, active theft, recovered theft, export, tow or impound, and for sale.

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Lien & Theft Check API