Year Make Model Lookup API -- Australia's Vehicle Database

Not every vehicle identification starts with a number plate. Sometimes the car is unregistered, sometimes it is a customer on the phone, and sometimes you just need a well-behaved set of make/model/year dropdowns in a form. For that you need a vehicle database -- and assembling an accurate Australian-market one yourself is a surprisingly painful project.

What's in the database

PlateAPI's vehicle database covers 23,000+ vehicle variants (125,000+ year-level records) across 225+ makes sold in the Australian market, spanning model years from the 1920s to current-year releases. It is exposed as an API endpoint on Starter plans and above.

Motorcycles have their own cascade on the same endpoint: add type=motorcycle for 15,000+ motorcycles, scooters, ATVs and snowmobiles across 420+ makes. The motorcycle guide walks through it.

How the cascade works

The endpoint cascades seven levels deep. It is a single URL that narrows as you add parameters -- exactly the shape you want for dependent dropdowns:

# 1. No parameters: list all 225+ makes
curl -s "https://api.plateapi.com.au/api/v1/vehicles" \
  -H "X-API-Key: pk_live_YOUR_API_KEY"

# 2. Add make: list that make's models
curl -s "https://api.plateapi.com.au/api/v1/vehicles?make=TOYOTA" \
  -H "X-API-Key: pk_live_YOUR_API_KEY"

# 3. Add model: list the model's years
curl -s "https://api.plateapi.com.au/api/v1/vehicles?make=TOYOTA&model=COROLLA" \
  -H "X-API-Key: pk_live_YOUR_API_KEY"

# 4-7. Continue adding series, engine, variant to drill
#      down to full vehicle records with specifications

Each response tells you which level of the cascade it is returning (make, model, year, series, engine, variant, or vehicle):

{
  "success": true,
  "data": [
    { "type": "model", "data": ["4 RUNNER", "4 RUNNER DELUXE", "4 RUNNER RV6, V6 SR5", "..."] }
  ],
  "total": 328,
  "duration_ms": 2.18
}

Responses come back in milliseconds -- fast enough to populate a dropdown on every selection change without debouncing gymnastics. You can stop at any level; not every integration needs all seven steps. The last level returns vehicle records, each with a vehicle_id, and GET /api/v1/vehicles/{vehicle_id} fetches one record by ID. The vehicle database reference has the full step-by-step cascade with example responses at each level.

It doesn't touch your lookup quota

Dropdown cascades are chatty: one customer filling out a make/model/year form fires three or four requests. Because of that, vehicle database queries do not count toward your monthly lookup allowance and have their own generous rate limit of 500 requests per minute. Your quota stays reserved for actual plate lookups.

Who uses it

• Auto parts stores -- the "shop by vehicle" dropdown fallback for customers who cannot or will not enter a plate
• Dealerships -- trade-in appraisal and enquiry forms with clean, validated vehicle input instead of a free-text field
• Workshops -- booking forms that capture the exact vehicle before the car arrives
• Fleet and insurance tools -- consistent vehicle normalisation across data entry

Pairing it with plate lookup

The two endpoints are designed to work together: offer rego lookup as the fast path -- plate in, vehicle out -- and fall back to the dropdown cascade when there is no plate to work with. Both use the same vehicle IDs: a plate lookup returns the same vehicle_id as the cascade does for that variant, so a car identified either way looks the same to your application.

The endpoint is available on Starter plans and above, starting at $79/month. Full parameter documentation is in the vehicle database reference.