You already check for recalls. This is the proof.
A recall disclosure form, filled from the VIN
Type the VIN. NHTSA decodes it in your browser, WhichTrim joins it to the model year’s recall campaigns, and you get a dated, source-cited, printable one-page record: what NHTSA’s public file carried against that model year on the day you checked, the two lookups that settle the specific vehicle, and a line for the buyer’s acknowledgment. Nothing you type reaches WhichTrim.
Decoded by NHTSA’s vPIC database in your browser; the recall file is the model year’s public record on this site. Print it or save it as a PDF; a model year with many campaigns runs to a second page.
What this record is, and is not
Source: NHTSA recalls · vPICIt is a dated record of what the public file said: every recall campaign NHTSA has on file against the model year the VIN decodes to, each with its campaign number, filing date, component, severity and remedy, and the date and time the page was drawn. That is the document the 2016 FTC orders and the 2017 New York settlement describe — a check, made on a date, with the result in writing and a buyer’s acknowledgment beside it.
It is not a clearance. A campaign is a build range the manufacturer defines; NHTSA records it against the model year, and only the VIN lookups know whether this car was built inside the range and whether the remedy was performed. The form says “filed against the model year” and hands you the two lookups that settle the vehicle — NHTSA’s and the manufacturer’s — so their results go in the file with it. It is not an inspection, and it is not legal advice.
What the rules actually require
Source: FTC consent orders, state settlements, 49 U.S.C. 30120Federal: the claim, not the sale
Federal law still does not forbid selling a used car with an open recall. What the FTC has acted on is the advertising: in 2016 it settled with General Motors, CarMax and four dealer groups over cars advertised as “safe” or “inspected” while some carried unrepaired recalls. The orders’ rule — make no safety claim unless the vehicle is recall-free, or disclose clearly, next to the claim, that it may be subject to open recalls and how to check — is the standard every “multi-point inspection” listing is measured against.
New York, 2017: the document itself
The Attorney General’s settlement with 104 dealers required a printed NHTSA recall-status report handed to the buyer before sale, with a signed acknowledgment, a window notice, and online listings that let a shopper verify the status. That is the shape this form takes: the report, the date, the signature lines.
Rental and fleet: a clock
49 U.S.C. 30120(i): a rental company with 35 or more vehicles must ground a recalled vehicle within 24 hours of the notice (48 hours if the recall covers more than 5,000 vehicles) until the remedy is done. The nightly check is how a fleet hears the night a campaign lands on a unit it holds.
State guidance: a standalone form
Dealer associations that have written the practice down (Texas’s TXIADA among them) recommend a separate, signed disclosure per vehicle and a statement on the dealer’s site with a VIN-lookup link. A form filled from the record, not typed from memory, is the version that survives a question eleven months later.
Sources: TINA.org on the FTC orders · F&I Magazine on the New York settlement · 49 U.S.C. 30120 at Cornell LII · TXIADA guidance. Read on 30 Sep 2026; rules change, and yours may add to them. This is not legal advice.
One form is a check. A log is proof.
Recall Watch keeps the VINs you hold on a list, re-checks every one against NHTSA’s file each night, writes a dated log row when a campaign lands, emails you that morning, and draws this same document for any vehicle on the list — with the check history under it. That log is the thing a question eleven months later is answered with.
Common questions
Source: FTC, NHTSA, state settlementsIs a recall check legally required before selling a used car?
Federal law does not ban the sale of a used car with an open recall; new vehicles and rental fleets of 35 or more are the exceptions in 49 U.S.C. 30120. What the FTC's 2016 consent orders reach is advertising: a car described as safe, inspected or certified must be recall-free, or the ad must disclose, next to the claim, that it may be subject to open recalls and how to check. Some states and settlements go further. This page is a record of a check, not legal advice.
Does this form prove the vehicle has no open recall?
No. It records what NHTSA's public file carried against the model year on the date shown. A campaign is a build range, so whether this VIN is inside it, and whether the remedy was done, comes from NHTSA's VIN lookup and the manufacturer's — both linked on the form. Print those results and file them with it.
Where does the data come from, and how fresh is it?
NHTSA's recall flat file, read every night; the form states the date the file was read and the moment the page was drawn. The VIN is decoded by NHTSA's vPIC service in your browser and never sent to WhichTrim.
Can I use it in the deal jacket?
It is a dated, source-cited record with an acknowledgment line, which is the shape the New York settlement and state guidance describe. Whether it satisfies a particular obligation is a question for your state and your counsel; the record is honest about what it can and cannot say, which is the property a document like this needs most.
What if the model year is not on WhichTrim?
The form cannot be drawn without the model year's record, so the page says so and points at NHTSA's VIN lookup instead. The site holds about 3,800 model years from 2016 on; older vehicles decode but have no page.