My report doesn’t have a VIN.

Not to worry, this is normal for reports that are available on listing sites such as Kijiji, AutoTrader or dealership websites. These businesses may hide the VIN on a report for privacy and/or fraud prevention reasons.


Please contact the seller to ask to see the full report when you go to see the vehicle in person. If they do not have that version, they can contact us to request it.


Once you have the report containing the VIN or the seller has provided you the VIN, please contact our support team to request verification of the VIN and report number you have been provided matches our records.


To submit a report verification request, please visit support.carfax.ca and click "Contact Us." Please include the VIN and Vehicle History Report number in your submission.



 


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My report says “Almost done...” or “pending,” what does that mean?

This means that one or more of our data sources hasn't sent data over yet.


The report will automatically update - usually within minutes - once we have received a response from each of our data sources.


In order to provide the most up-to-date information in our reports, we search lien information in real time. If you order a Vehicle History Report + Lien Check, Vehicle History Report + Lien Check (BC) or redeem a lien check in your 3 Vehicle History Reports + 1 Lien Check order in the evening or on a weekend/holiday, the report might say "Almost done... We're just collecting info from our data sources" or the Report Status may display "Pending" until the following business morning when the data sources re-open. The moment lien information is available, your report will update and complete automatically.


If your report has not completed by the end of the next business day, please contact us at support.carfax.ca and clicking "Contact Us." Please include the VIN and Vehicle History Report number in your submission.


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My report says it does not include information from ICBC.

This most likely means that the option to add ICBC check was not selected at the time of purchase. There is a possibility that the CARFAX Canada Vehicle History Report you're viewing is missing important damage, estimate and/or insurance information from ICBC.


For more information on ICBC, please see: What does “Add ICBC Check” mean?


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My vehicle is in the US, can I still order a CARFAX Canada report?

Yes, if your vehicle was registered in the U.S. and hasn't been registered in Canada, we can provide you the vehicle history though we do recommend running a report through our U.S.-based sister company: www.carfax.com


Please note, we do not report on U.S.-based liens. If you are interested in a U.S. vehicle's lien status you will have to request that information from the seller/owner of the vehicle.


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Report Types

Vehicle History Report


What information is on a CARFAX Canada Vehicle History Report?


A Vehicle History Report will contain any information available to us related to:


  • Year, make, model and trim information
  • Past and present registration history* - including branding (irreparable, salvage, normal, etc...), previous use and number of previous owners
  • Service records - including dates, odometer reading, overview of services completed
  • Odometer readings
  • Damage history - including glass repairs, police reported accidents, repair estimates, insurance claims, completed repairs, damages notices and more
  • Recall status
  • Stolen status
  • U.S. history


View sample Vehicle History Report


CARFAX Canada Vehicle History Report (BC) will contain any available information as listed above in addition to any known damage, estimate and/or insurance information reported by ICBC - B.C.'s public insurer


CARFAX Canada Vehicle History Reports do not include a Canada lien search.


Vehicle History Report + Lien Check


What information is on a CARFAX Canada Vehicle History Report + Lien Check?


A Vehicle History Report + Lien Check will contain any information available to us related to:

  • Year, make, model and trim information
  • Past and present registration history* - including branding (irreparable, salvage, normal, etc...), previous use and number of previous owners
  • Service records - including dates, odometer reading, overview of services completed
  • Odometer readings
  • Damage history - including glass repairs, police reported accidents, repair estimates, insurance claims, completed repairs, damages notices and more
  • Recall status
  • Stolen status
  • U.S. history
  • Registered liens**


View sample Vehicle History Report + Lien Check


CARFAX Canada Vehicle History Report (BC) will contain any available information as listed above in addition to any known damage, estimate and/or insurance information reported by ICBC - B.C.'s public insurer


While we are the most comprehensive vehicle history reporting service in Canada, a report is based only on information supplied to CARFAX Canada by participating data sources. There may be other information about a vehicle that has not been reported to CARFAX Canada.


* Registration information is not available for vehicles registered in Northwest Territories.


** CARFAX Canada will search for liens in each province or territory in Canada (excluding Northwest Territories) in which the vehicle (identified by its VIN) (i) is currently registered; and (ii) has historically been registered.


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What does “Add ICBC Check” mean?

If a vehicle has ever been registered in British Columbia, it's likely that at some point it had coverage from the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC); the province's public insurance provider.


ICBC can share damage, estimate and insurance information with CARFAX Canada for an additional fee of $20.00 plus tax.


When purchasing a report for a vehicle with BC registration (past or present), we recommend that your include the "Add ICBC Check" option to ensure your report contains any known damage, estimate and/or insurance records ICBC may contain the vehicle.


If you're seeing this option during your transaction, that means our system has already learned that the vehicle does have BC registration history - meaning it could have damage records from ICBC.


For more information about adding an ICBC Check, please see:


How do I add ICBC to my Vehicle History Report?

Do I have to add an ICBC check?

Does my report contain ICBC information?

My report says it does not include information from ICBC.


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What does the "We couldn't verify your VIN" message mean?

This message means that we are unable to decode your Vehicle Information Number because it is not a recognized VIN for a passenger car or light truck, manufactured after 1980 and intended for sale in Canada or the U.S., or it is a unique vehicle type (see below) that we are unable to decode and/or generate a report for. Unique vehicle types/VINs that we are unable to generate a report for include, but are not limited to:


  • All-terrain vehicle
  • Boat
  • Camper/motorhome/RV
  • Classic vehicle (any vehicle manufactured prior to 1981)
  • Heavy equipment
  • Motorcycle
  • Personal watercraft (i.e. Jet Ski, Sea-doo)
  • Snowmobile
  • Trailer
  • Vehicles originally intended for sale outside of Canada and the U.S.


To double check the compatibility of the VIN of your passenger car/light truck, please visit: www.carfax.ca/vin-decode.


If you continue experiencing issues with the VIN of a passenger car/light truck that you've entered, please contact our support team by returning to support.carfax.ca and clicking "Contact Us." Please include the VIN and identify the vehicle's year, make and model in your submission. If you have a photo of the VIN plate, you can include that as well.


Not sure where to find the vehicle's VIN plate, please see: Where can I find the VIN?


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What do I do if my value is incorrect?

Powered by the superior vehicle history data network from CARFAX Canada, and up-to-date market information, the History-Based Value output is quite complex and requires many pieces of information to calculate. If you suspect that our valuation output is incorrect, the first step will be to confirm that all entries about your vehicle are accurate. i.e., odometer reading, trim package, engine size, etc. Once you’ve confirmed this and your valuation still doesn’t look quite right, we’d love to hear about it. Please contact us to provide feedback.


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What do I need to order a CARFAX Canada report?

To order a vehicle history report, you will need a valid credit card or PayPal account for payment, an email address for us to send the report to and the VIN of the vehicle (optional at time of purchase, but a VIN must be entered within 180 days of your purchase or your order will expire).


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What is a CARFAX Canada report number?

Every CARFAX Canada report is assigned a unique number that uniquely identifies your report for ease of reference.


The report number can be found at the top corner of the report.


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