Subaru VIN Location and VIN OCR API

Where the VIN Is on a Subaru

On Subaru vehicles sold in North America, the 17-character VIN is on a plate at the lower driver-side corner of the windshield, readable from outside, and on the certification label in the driver-side door jamb. It also appears on the title, registration, and insurance card. Subaru builds several models in Indiana and others in Japan, so the same nameplate can carry either prefix.

Reading a Subaru VIN from a Photo

Common Subaru manufacturer identifiers include JF1 and JF2 (Japan-built), 4S3 and 4S4 (US-built). Send a photo of the windshield plate, door label, or document to the VIN OCR API; it returns the VIN and where it was read from. To get make, model, and year, pass the VIN to NHTSA’s free vPIC API. Try it first with the free VIN scanner.

Where This Fits

• Dealer trade-ins: Capture Subaru VINs from the windshield during appraisal without typing 17 characters.
• Insurance and claims: Read the VIN from the door label or registration card and attach it to the policy or claim.
• Fleet and rental lots: Audit lots by photographing windshield plates from outside the vehicle.

Read the VIN, Then Decode It

Extract the VIN with StructOCR, then decode make, model, and year with NHTSA vPIC.

Prerequisite: Python 3.9+, `pip install requests`, and a STRUCTOCR_API_KEY

import base64
import os
import requests

with open("vin.jpg", "rb") as image_file:
    image = base64.b64encode(image_file.read()).decode("ascii")

# 1. Read the VIN from the photo with StructOCR
ocr = requests.post(
    "https://api.structocr.com/v1/vin",
    headers={"x-api-key": os.environ["STRUCTOCR_API_KEY"]},
    json={"img": image},
    timeout=30,
)
ocr.raise_for_status()
vin = ocr.json()["data"]["vin"]

# 2. Decode make, model, and year with NHTSA's free vPIC API
decoded = requests.get(
    f"https://vpic.nhtsa.dot.gov/api/vehicles/DecodeVinValues/{vin}?format=json",
    timeout=30,
).json()["Results"][0]
print(vin, decoded["Make"], decoded["Model"], decoded["ModelYear"])

Sample VIN Response

Illustrative response using the Wikipedia sample VIN. The API returns the VIN as read; decoding happens in a separate step.

{
  "success": true,
  "data": {
    "vin": "1M8GDM9AXKP042788",
    "confidence": "High",
    "carrier_type": "windshield"
  }
}