VIN Decode SQL Database and Excel Processing Tool

This repository contains a comprehensive setup for VIN decoding. The database is NHTSA's standalone database, from year 2022.

Getting Started

• Database Import: Begin by importing the .bak file into SQL Server Management Studio to set up the VIN Decode database.
• Download the SQL database backup here .
• VIN Decoding: Use the SQL script to decode VINs. Follow the instructions to execute the script within SQL Server Management Studio.
• Data Processing: After decoding, use the provided Excel form to process and manage the output data.

Usage

General Information:

• Product Information Catalog and Vehicle Listing (vPIC) Analytical User's Manual 2020: [https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/813252]
• Data will always export as a 2 row x 6 column table. This allows sorting in the Excel form that has been provided.
• Columns A-F will populate: VIN, Year, Make, Model, Body Style, HEV/BEV Label (in this order)
• For version 3: If VIN does not decode clean (by NHTSA's definition) the cells will display error
• For version 4: If error code #4, #8 or #11 is associated with the VIN decode process from the SQL query, the cells will display error.

Steps for Decoding

• Download the database from this repository
• Download Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio
• Run the SQL script to create a new stored procedure
• Use notepad++ to copy 10,000 records at a time into Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio
  • Syntax is below.
    • Replace [VIN] and [YEAR] with the VIN and the model year (if available)
    • Replace [databaseName] with the name of the database that was backed up.
• VINs should be able to be decoded at a minimum rate of 1000 VINs/minute.
  • Process 10,000 VINs at a time to optimize speed. The excel sheet is set up to take a maximum of 10,000 records.
• Query results will need to be set so that the output is to a bar “ | “ delimited file. This prevents problems with columns that are comma delimited (the output text can contain commas which causes issues in the alignment of the data)

	USE [databaseName]
	GO
	EXEC [dbo].[spVinDecode_v4] @v = [VIN], @year = [YEAR];

Importing NHTSA's Database into SQL Server Management Studio

• After downloading the database from this repository, unzip the file and place in the C-drive
• Open SQL Server Management Studio. Right click Databases select Restore Database...
  • Under Destination name the database.
• Select device and click ... then click add
• Locate the .bak file, select it, click ok

Creating the Updated Stored Procedure

• Right click on the database, select New Query
• Paste the SQL Code into the Query tab that opens
• Select execute
• The stored procedure is now available for decoding.

SQL Code

SQL script to create a new stored procedure is linked below. This needs to be run in Microsoft SQL Server management Studio to create a new stored procedure that processes VINs properly. Use with the 2022 database located in this repository (not compatible with the newer versions from NHTSA).

• spVinDecode_v3 is the version with the most strict handling for error messages
• spVinDecode_v4 is a version that only produces an error in the decode results for codes #4, #11, and #8.