VIN check Ireland: service history by chassis number

Yes. In Ireland the 17-character Vehicle Identification Number is often called the chassis number, at garages and in dealer and finance paperwork. It is the same code, and it is printed in field E of the Vehicle Registration Certificate. The one exception is a Japanese-brand car built for Japan, whose chassis number is a shorter Japanese code such as ZVW30-1234567.

Partly. If the car came from Britain, its UK test history and odometer readings are free by VIN with our UK import tool. A free decoder will name the manufacturer. The manufacturer's service records are a paid check, because we pay the data provider for every lookup — and you are only charged if records are found.

No. We return the maintenance record — services logged by franchised dealers. A full Irish car history check from a provider of that data covers finance, write-off, mileage and stolen status. They answer different questions and are commonly bought together.

Yes. Almost every car built since 1981 has a 17-character VIN. It uses letters and digits but never the letters I, O or Q, which were excluded to avoid confusion with 1 and 0. If what you have is shorter, it is not the VIN — and if it is a short code with a dash, such as ZVW30-1234567, it is the Japanese chassis number of a Japanese-brand car built for Japan, which we can't check.

Yes. There is no ownership check — that is the point of the service. Buyers run the VIN before they hand over money, to test the seller's claims against the official dealer record.

No. We return official manufacturer and main-dealer service records — the maintenance history. The NCT is a separate roadworthiness test held by the RSA and is not part of the report. Anyone offering you an Irish service history that is really just test history is selling you something different.

It helps. Manufacturer service records are stored against the VIN, not the number plate, so a car built and serviced in the UK keeps its dealer history after it is imported, VRT is paid and it goes onto Irish plates. That history is often the fullest record on the car.

Often, if it is a European make. A Volkswagen, Audi, BMW or Porsche sold new in Japan has a normal 17-character VIN, and Japanese main dealers log its services in the same manufacturer system we search, so its Japanese visits can come back with the date, the odometer reading in km and the work done. Toyota, Honda, Nissan and other Japanese-brand cars built for Japan carry a short Japanese chassis number instead of a VIN, and we can't check them.

€12.99. Your card is authorised at checkout but only charged if we actually find service records for the vehicle. If nothing is on file, the authorisation is released and you pay nothing.

The VIN is a 17-character code. It is printed in field E of the Vehicle Registration Certificate (the Irish logbook), stamped at the base of the windscreen on the driver's side, and shown on a plate inside the driver's door frame. On a UK import it will also be on the V5C the seller may still hold. A Japanese-brand car built for Japan has a shorter Japanese chassis number instead, such as ZVW30-1234567.

Cars serviced at franchised main dealers, where the visit was logged into the manufacturer's central system. Work done at an independent garage is not in the manufacturer's system and will not appear. Digital coverage is strong from roughly 2012 onwards and thins out on older cars.