The VIN in box E of a German vehicle registration
Upload a photo or a scan of the German Zulassungsbescheinigung Teil I and the 17-character vehicle identification number from box E comes back in one to two seconds — checked against the check digit printed next to it in box 3. That comparison is part of every request: if the VIN that was read does not fit the printed digit, Fahrzeugschein24 reports it before the record moves on.
Read the VIN instead of typing 17 characters
Copying seventeen characters by hand costs time and eventually goes wrong — O and 0 sit close together in print, and a single wrong character travels into the contract and the file before anyone notices. Fahrzeugschein24 takes the number straight from box E, on the Zulassungsbescheinigung Teil I and on the older Fahrzeugschein alike, and hands it to your system while the customer is still at the counter.
The number does not arrive alone: one extraction also returns every other entry on the document, up to 65 fields. Each value comes with an indication of how certain the recognition was and where it sits on the page, and the matching image section can be switched on in your account. Anyone checking 17 characters by eye sees them exactly as they appear on the paper.
Document in, checked number out
Document in
Photo or scan of a Zulassungsbescheinigung Teil I
Values out
Vehicle identification number (box E) WVWZZZ1JZXW000001
Check digit printed on the document 6
Comparison matches
... plus the other entries on the document,
each value with certainty and locationThree outcomes your process can handle cleanly
| Outcome | What it means | When it happens |
|---|---|---|
| Matches | The printed check digit and the number that was read agree. | The normal case — safe to pass straight through. |
| Does not match | The two do not fit together. | One of the two reads differently from how it is printed, or the printed digit does not fit the number. |
| No comparison possible | There was nothing to compare — which explicitly does not mean “invalid”. | The document carries a dash where the check digit would be, or that spot is not legible on the photo. |
The check digit comes off the paper — that is what makes it worth checking
The check digit is only ever read from the document, never calculated from the number. A calculated digit would always agree with the number it came from — the comparison would confirm itself and prove nothing. Instead two independent entries face each other: the number in box E and the digit printed next to it when the document was issued. A misread character surfaces at the counter instead of weeks later in the file.
The outcome is reported, never written back into the values — the decision stays with you. If entries on the document contradict each other, you get a note about that too. Checking a document for irregularities is included from the Business plan on; it is a pointer for your own review, not an official confirmation of authenticity.
What this takes off your desk
A dash is a clean result too
Where a document carries a dash instead of a check digit, you get “no comparison possible” — its own outcome, so your process can tell it apart from a mismatch.
Check look-alike characters where it matters
O and 0, I and 1, S and 5: across 17 characters from a phone photo, the tricky spot is rarely the one you would guess. Certainty, location and the image section you can switch on point straight at it.
A phone photo from the forecourt is enough
JPEG, PNG, HEIC, PDF, TIFF, BMP or WebP up to 20 MB, one document per request, first page of a PDF. Tilted, rotated or dark pictures are prepared automatically — nobody has to walk to a scanner.
One call, a complete record
Along with the vehicle identification number you get HSN and TSN, keeper details and technical values, ready for your form. The guide to the German registration document shows how the form is laid out.
Questions about reading the VIN
How long is the VIN, and which box holds it?
17 characters, in the box labelled E on the German Zulassungsbescheinigung Teil I; the older Fahrzeugschein is read just as well. It comes back with its certainty and its location on the page.
No comparison was possible — does that mean the number is invalid?
No. There was simply nothing to compare against — the document carries a dash where the check digit would be. Handle that case separately from a mismatch so you do not stop every document without a check digit.
Why is the check digit not calculated from the number?
Because a calculated digit always agrees with the number it came from — the check would confirm itself. Only the digit printed on the document is an independent second source.
Why is a mismatch reported when the number looks right on paper?
Because one of the two reads differently from how it is printed — often a single confusable character. The image section you can switch on settles it in seconds.
Can I try it on a document of my own?
Yes. Create a free account and upload your own document: 15 extractions a month, no credit card. As volume grows, plans start at 19 euros.
What happens to the uploaded image?
The document is processed for the request only and is not stored; what remains is the extracted data and log data on your account. Processing takes place in Germany and the EU — details are in the privacy policy, and the Art. 28 GDPR data processing agreement can be reviewed in advance.
How do we connect this to our own software?
Through a REST endpoint: send a document, get data back. The overview of the interface shows how a call is built, and the FAQ collects the rest.
Read the VIN from your own document
15 extractions a month for free, no credit card. Sign up, create an API key in the dashboard and send your first document — the checked number comes back in one to two seconds.
Create a free account