When is my card charged?
Your card is charged only after you confirm the VIN and finish payment on the secure payment page. Reviewing your order costs nothing.
Check the review date and linked sources for context. Live availability, prices and record coverage can vary by VIN, source, jurisdiction and time.
Nothing is charged while you are choosing a report or reviewing an order — a charge can occur only after you confirm the VIN and complete payment on the secure payment page. Pressing a purchase button creates a pending order, asks the payment provider for a checkout session and sends your browser there; the card is entered and confirmed on the provider's page. Your report is created only after payment is confirmed.
- Nothing is charged while you are choosing a report or reviewing an order.
- The charge happens on the payment provider's page, after you confirm it there.
- Closing the payment page instead of paying brings you back where you started, with no charge.
What each step actually does
The free VIN decode identifies the vehicle and never involves payment. When you are on the order review page, it shows the decoded vehicle, the full 17-character VIN, the report format and the price — $14.99 for one report, $29.99 for three credits, $44.99 for five. Reading that page, comparing it with the sample report or leaving it does nothing to your card.
Pressing a purchase button sends one request to our checkout endpoint. That request creates a pending order on our side and asks the payment provider for a checkout session, then redirects your browser to the provider's page. Card details are entered and confirmed there, not on our site. The review page states it plainly: your report is created only after payment is confirmed.
If you close the payment page
Leaving the provider's page without paying brings you back where you started — your VIN result if the purchase was tied to a VIN, otherwise the report options page — with a notice that checkout was closed. No charge is made and no report is created, because a report job is only queued when the provider confirms a successful payment.
Taxes, where they are legally required, are shown on the payment page before you confirm, so the final amount you approve can be higher than the listed price. Every option is a one-time purchase: there is no membership, automatic renewal or recurring charge.
What this does not cover
- Payment details are handled by the payment provider; we do not need to receive full card numbers, and payment is processed by a third party under its own terms.
- Applicable tax is added at the payment page, so the listed price is the total before tax, not always the final total.
Sources reviewed
Open the underlying public source and verify that its scope matches the question you are asking.
Frequently asked questions
Is this a subscription?
No. One report, three credits and five credits are each a one-time purchase with no membership, automatic renewal or recurring charge.
Does the free VIN check cost anything?
No. VIN identity decoding is free and separate from any purchase. A charge can only follow a confirmed payment for a report or a credit pack.
What total will I approve on the payment page?
The report price you selected — $14.99, $29.99 or $44.99 — plus any tax that is legally required, shown before you confirm payment.