VIN Grounding Data

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.

The tool

Once your client is connected to the VerveContext server, this appears in its tool list as VINGroundingData. It is read-only and open-world — it fetches and never mutates anything on your side — so most clients call it without asking you to confirm.

{
  "name": "VINGroundingData",
  "arguments": {
    "vin": "1HGCM82633A004352"
  }
}

You do not name the tool yourself; the model picks it. Asking about 1HGCM82633A004352 in the terms this source covers is enough for it to reach for VINGroundingData on its own — naming it explicitly also works, and is the way to force the call.

Connecting

One server URL covers every source in the catalog, including this one. Authorization is OAuth: the client opens a browser once, and there is no key to paste into a config file.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "vervecontext": {
      "url": "https://api.vervecontext.com/v1/mcp"
    }
  }
}

https://api.vervecontext.com/v1/mcp

Per-client setup — Claude, Cursor, VS Code, ChatGPT — is on the MCP setup page.

Arguments

These are the properties on the tool's inputSchema, so a well-behaved client validates them before the call is made. Premium arguments are accepted on every plan but only take effect on plans that include them.

What the model gets back

The result carries a structuredContent object matching the tool's declared outputSchema, so a client reads fields without parsing prose. status is "ok" and error is null on success; a null field means the value was not available for that input, not that the call failed.

{
  "status": "ok",
  "error": null,
  "data": {
    "vin": "1HGCM82633A004352",
    "valid": true,
    "decoded": true,
    "vehicleDescriptor": "1HGCM826*3A",
    "make": "HONDA",
    "model": "Accord",
    "year": 2003,
    "trim": "EX-V6",
    "trim2": null,
    "series": null,
    "series2": null,
    "manufacturer": "AMERICAN HONDA MOTOR CO., INC.",
    "vehicleType": "PASSENGER CAR",
    "bodyClass": "Coupe",
    "plant": {
      "country": "UNITED STATES (USA)",
      "city": "MARYSVILLE",
      "state": "OHIO"
    },
    "engine": {
      "displacementL": "2.998832712",
      "displacementCc": "2998.832712",
      "displacementCi": "183",
      "engineNumberOfCylinders": "6",
      "engineBrakeHpFrom": "240",
      "engineConfiguration": "V-Shaped",
      "engineModel": "J30A4",
      "valveTrainDesign": "Single Overhead Cam (SOHC)",
      "fuelTypePrimary": "Gasoline"
    },
    "features": {
      "exterior": {
        "doors": "2",
        "grossVehicleWeightRatingFrom": "Class 1C: 4,001 - 5,000 lb (1,814 - 2,268 kg)",
        "grossVehicleWeightRatingTo": "Class 1: 6,000 lb or less (2,722 kg or less)"
      },
      "mechanical": {
        "transmissionStyle": "Automatic",
        "transmissionSpeeds": "5"
      },
      "passiveSafetySystem": {
        "seatBeltType": "Manual",
        "otherRestraintSystemInfo": "Seat Belt (Rr center position)",
        "frontAirBagLocations": "1st Row (Driver and Passenger)",
        "sideAirBagLocations": "1st Row (Driver and Passenger)",
        "curtainAirBagLocations": "1st and 2nd Rows"
      }
    },
    "validation": {
      "errorCode": "0",
      "errorCodes": [
        "0"
      ],
      "errorText": "0 - VIN decoded clean. Check Digit (9th position) is correct"
    }
  }
}

Response fields

Paths are relative to data. Premium fields are absent rather than zeroed on plans that do not include them, so check for presence instead of comparing to 0.

Why ground on it

A model can produce something that looks like this answer from its training data, and be confidently out of date or simply wrong. This source returns the current value in a shape you can check, which is the difference between an answer you can cite and one you have to hedge.

Point an evaluation at valid: it is the field most worth pinning a claim to, and it is either present and current or absent — never plausibly invented.

Failure modes

Errors come back as tool errors carrying a sentence the model can act on, not a bare status code. Error handling covers the full list.

A call costs 5 credits each time the tool actually runs; a model that reasons about the tool without calling it costs nothing.

Other ways to use VIN Grounding Data

Set up VIN Grounding Data on VerveContext, or reach the same source a different way. Your VerveContext account and credits work on all of them — one key, one balance.

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