PlateAPIAPI Reference
Base URL: https://api.plateapi.com.au
Quick Start
PlateAPI is a single-endpoint REST API. Send a GET request with a plate number and state, and you get structured vehicle data back as JSON. No SDK required -- any HTTP client works.
cURL
curl -s "https://api.plateapi.com.au/api/v1/lookup\ ?plate=1ZC7YN\ &state=VIC" \ -H "X-API-Key: pk_live_YOUR_API_KEY"
Python
import requests
response = requests.get(
"https://api.plateapi.com.au/api/v1/lookup",
params={"plate": "1ZC7YN", "state": "VIC"},
headers={"X-API-Key": "pk_live_YOUR_API_KEY"}
)
data = response.json()
if data["success"]:
v = data["vehicle"]
print(f"{v['year']} {v['make']} {v['model']} -- {v['engine']}")
else:
print(data["error"])JavaScript
const res = await fetch(
"https://api.plateapi.com.au/api/v1/lookup?plate=1ZC7YN&state=VIC",
{ headers: { "X-API-Key": "pk_live_YOUR_API_KEY" } }
);
const data = await res.json();
if (data.success) {
const { year, make, model, engine } = data.vehicle;
console.log(`${year} ${make} ${model} -- ${engine}`);
} else {
console.error(data.error);
}Look up a vehicle by registration plate and state. Returns structured vehicle data including year, make, model, body type, and engine.
Query parameters
| Parameter | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
plate | string | Required | Registration plate number (e.g. 1ZC7YN). Case-insensitive, alphanumeric only. |
state | string | Required | Australian state or territory code: ACT, NSW, NT, QLD, SA, TAS, VIC, WA |
shop | string | Optional | Your Shopify store domain for billing tracking (e.g. mystore.myshopify.com) |
Example response
{
"success": true,
"vehicle": {
"year": 2003,
"make": "TOYOTA",
"model": "COROLLA",
"description": "03~06 TOYOTA COROLLA ZZE122R ASCENT",
"body": "HATCHBACK",
"engine": "1.8L"
},
"duration_ms": 1509.96,
"alternatives": []
}Response fields
| Field | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
success | boolean | Whether a vehicle was found |
vehicle.year | integer | Model year |
vehicle.make | string | Manufacturer (e.g. TOYOTA, HOLDEN, FORD) |
vehicle.model | string | Model name |
vehicle.description | string | Full vehicle description string |
vehicle.body | string|null | Body type (SEDAN, HATCHBACK, UTE, etc.) |
vehicle.engine | string|null | Engine displacement |
duration_ms | number | Total lookup time in milliseconds |
alternatives | array | Other possible vehicle matches (e.g. different engine variants) |
Returns the health status of the API. No authentication required. Use this for uptime monitoring.
Example
curl -s "https://api.plateapi.com.au/api/v1/health"
Error Responses
When a lookup fails or no vehicle is found, the API returns a JSON object with success: false and an error field describing what went wrong.
{
"success": false,
"error": "No vehicle found for plate ABC123 in VIC",
"duration_ms": 4521.33
}Rate Limits
Requests are rate-limited per minute based on your plan. Exceeding the limit returns a 429 Too Many Requests response. The response includes a Retry-After header indicating how many seconds to wait.
| Plan | Rate Limit | Monthly Lookups |
|---|---|---|
| Free | 1 request/min | 20 |
| Starter | 10 requests/min | 400 |
| Growth | 10 requests/min | 2,000 |
| Enterprise | 45 requests/min | Unlimited |