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 Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) badge on the VHR mean?

Vehicles with the Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) badge have passed a series of strict maintenance and condition requirements, meeting the quality standards of the manufacturer's (OEM's) CPO program.


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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 I no longer want to receive the monthly emails?

You can stop the monthly Vehicle Monitoring emails by opening a ticket on our Support Centre and a member of our Customer Experience Team will be in touch to support you at any time. 


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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 do I receive after purchasing the Vehicle Monitoring subscription?

After purchasing the Vehicle Monitoring subscription, you will receive an email receipt containing a link to redeem your Vehicle History Report (VHR). Within 2–3 business days after your VHR has been redeemed, you will receive another email containing your first VIN Fraud Check and a link to access your VHR dashboard. Please note that the VHR does not include lien information or information from ICBC, British Columbia's public insurance provider. 


Additionally, you will receive a monthly email with a new VIN Fraud Check and a link to your VHR dashboard, which will include an updated VHR. Your subscription includes 12 months of emails and will not auto-renew. 


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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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What is a CARFAX Canada "3 Vehicle History Reports + 1 Lien Check" bundle?

A 3 Vehicle History Reports + 1 Lien Check is a bundle of CARFAX Canada products that lets you check the history of three different vehicles for one low price.


Each bundle comes with three Vehicle History Reports and one Lien Check. This allows you to compare the history of three vehicles, once you've found the vehicle for your, you can run a lien check to ensure there are no registered liens on that vehicle.


You have 180 days to generate all the reports included in your 3 Vehicle History Reports + 1 Lien Check order. We will send your a reminder email 30 days and 7 days before your order expires.


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