Why did my download link expire?
Because the file URL itself is signed to last 60 seconds. Press Download PDF on your report page again and a brand-new signed link is created for you.
Check the review date and linked sources for context. Live availability, prices and record coverage can vary by VIN, source, jurisdiction and time.
Because the address the file actually comes from is signed to last 60 seconds. The Download PDF button does not point at storage: it calls a private endpoint that checks your access, re-verifies the stored file, then forwards you to a freshly signed one-minute link. A copied or forwarded version of that address stops working almost immediately. Press the button again and a new one is minted.
- 60 seconds is the signed lifetime of the file address, not the lifetime of your report.
- The stable address to keep is your report page; the signed link is disposable by design.
- Downloads are limited to 30 per hour from the same requester.
The short life is the security model
A signed storage link is readable by anyone who holds it while it is valid, so it is issued for the shortest useful window. The code that creates it sets 60 seconds and refuses any request outside a one-to-three-hundred-second range. The in-page viewer signs a link the same way, but it consumes that link on the server and streams the PDF back, so the address in your browser stays the app's own /view endpoint — it re-checks your access and signs a fresh link on each request.
Before signing anything, the endpoint re-checks the stored file against the recorded SHA-256 hash, size and content type. If the file is missing from storage you are told the report is still being prepared; if it is there but no longer matches, the download stops with a service error rather than handing you a file that is not your unmodified provider report.
What to keep instead
Keep the report page address, not the download address. Your report-ready email links to that page, and to the same page with a download instruction attached, so following the email always mints a new signed link rather than reusing an old one. My Reports does the same from the Download PDF button on a single-report order; on a pack, open the report from its Open report link and press Download PDF there.
If the button itself stops working, check two things: you still need valid access (signed in with the checkout email, or in the browser you paid in), and the endpoint allows 30 downloads per hour per requester, answering with a retry-after header beyond that.
What this does not cover
- A new link can only be minted while you still have access to the report; the link is not a substitute for it.
- The 30-downloads-per-hour limit is counted per requester, so repeated rapid retries can pause your own downloads.
- While a signed link is alive, anyone holding it could use it — our terms license the report for your own internal use, so do not share it.
Sources reviewed
Open the underlying public source and verify that its scope matches the question you are asking.
Frequently asked questions
Does re-downloading the report cost anything or use a credit?
No. A credit is spent when a report is queued for a VIN. Viewing or downloading an already-delivered report again does not consume anything.
Why does the download say the report is still being prepared?
The endpoint returns that when the report is not in a ready state, or when the stored file cannot be found at all. If the file is found but fails its integrity re-check, or storage cannot be reached, the download stops with a service error instead. Either way it never serves a substituted or truncated document in place of your provider report.
Can I bookmark a link that keeps working?
Bookmark your report page. It checks your access every time and issues a new signed link on demand, which is exactly what an old copied download address cannot do.