What is a vehicle passport?
A vehicle passport is a car's lifetime record, kept in one place and carried from owner to owner: every service (a “stamp”), mileage readings, open and fixed recalls, and what is due next. With VinSnap, the owner keeps the passport and can share it with a buyer as one private link.
A VinSnap Vehicle Passport is a private record kept by the owner. It is not a government document or vehicle registration.
Think of it as a digital version of the stamped service book in the glovebox, with two differences: each entry says how it is backed (a scanned receipt, a workshop record, or the owner's word), and the whole record can be shared as a link instead of handed over on paper. Every car deserves a passport.
Vehicle passport vs history report, Car-Pass, Battery Passport and service book
“Passport” and “history” are used for very different things. This table sets out who keeps each record, what it contains, who can check it, what it costs, and whether it has any official status.
| Record | Who keeps it | What's in it | Who can verify it | Cost | Official status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vehicle Passport (VinSnap) | The car's owner, in the VinSnap app | Service stamps, receipts, mileage timeline, open and fixed recalls, what's due next | Anyone the owner shares the link with; each stamp is labelled Receipt-backed, Workshop-verified or Owner-reported | Free to start | None. A private record, not a government document or vehicle registration |
| Carfax-style history report | A third-party data company | Events the company has collected from its data sources (for example title, accident or service records it has access to) | The buyer reads it; coverage depends on what the company was able to collect | Paid per VIN or per bundle of reports | Commercial product, not a government document |
| Car-Pass (Belgium) | Car-Pass, a non-profit set up under Belgian law | Odometer readings recorded by garages, inspection centres and other professionals | The buyer, who receives it from the seller | Fixed fee paid by the seller | Legal odometer certificate, required when a used car is sold in Belgium |
| EU Battery Passport | The company that places the battery on the EU market | Data about the battery itself (such as its model, composition, carbon footprint and, for some data, state of health); not the car's service history | Public information via a QR code on the battery; more detailed data for authorised parties | No charge to read the public information | Mandatory for EV batteries from 18 February 2027 under Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 |
| Paper service book | Whoever has the car (usually in the glovebox) | Workshop stamps and handwritten service entries | Hard to check: stamps can be missing, lost with the book, or copied | Comes with the car | None |
These records are not rivals. A Car-Pass proves the odometer readings it holds; a history report shows what a third party found; a vehicle passport shows what the owner did with the car, with the evidence attached. A buyer in Belgium will want the Car-Pass and can ask for the passport too.
What goes in a vehicle passport
- Service stamps — each oil change, brake job, tyre change or repair, with date and mileage.
- Receipts — scanned in the app, so the stamp is backed by the document.
- Mileage timeline — every reading in order, with a flag if a reading is lower than an earlier one (a typo, a changed unit or a replaced odometer).
- Recalls — open and fixed recalls where official recall data is available for the vehicle (for example NHTSA data for US vehicles).
- What's due next — upcoming maintenance based on the car and its mileage.
- The vehicle itself — make, model, year and specs decoded from the VIN. The shared page shows at most the last six characters of the VIN.
Stamp labels: how each entry is backed
Not every entry is equal, so a VinSnap Vehicle Passport says where each one came from.
The receipt was scanned in VinSnap when the service was logged.
A workshop using VinSnap Business recorded the job, and the owner accepted it into the passport.
Typed in by the owner. VinSnap has not checked it.
How to start a vehicle passport
- Add your car. Open the VinSnap web app (or the iPhone app) and add the car by VIN.
- Log what you already have. Add past services and scan the receipts you kept; each becomes a stamp.
- Keep it going. Log new services as they happen and update the mileage. VinSnap shows recalls and what's due next.
- Share it when you sell. Create a private link and send it to the buyer. You can revoke it at any time.
Start your car's passport — free
Every car deserves a passport. Add your car once and its record builds itself as you go.
Web app at vinsnap.net/app · Get the iPhone app
For buyers: ask for the passport
When you look at a used car, ask the seller for the VinSnap passport link. Check the mileage timeline for readings that go down, look at which stamps are Receipt-backed or Workshop-verified, and see whether any recalls are still open. A passport does not replace an inspection or, in Belgium, the Car-Pass.
For workshops: stamp the passport
Workshops on VinSnap Business record jobs as they already do. When the owner accepts the job, it appears in the car's passport as a Workshop-verified stamp, so your work stays with the car when it is sold.
Frequently asked questions
What is a vehicle passport?
A vehicle passport is a car's lifetime record kept in one place and carried from owner to owner: every service (a “stamp”), mileage readings, open and fixed recalls, and what is due next. The owner can share it with a buyer as one private link.
Is a VinSnap Vehicle Passport an official document?
No. A VinSnap Vehicle Passport is a private record kept by the owner. It is not a government document or vehicle registration, and it is not an odometer certificate such as Belgium's Car-Pass.
How is a vehicle passport different from a Carfax report?
A Carfax-style vehicle history report is compiled by a third party from data it collects and is bought per VIN. A vehicle passport is kept by the owner, who adds each service as it happens and decides who can see it. The two answer different questions and can be used together.
Is a vehicle passport the same as the EU Battery Passport?
No. The EU Battery Passport is a digital record required by Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 for electric-vehicle batteries (and some other batteries) from 18 February 2027. It is kept by the company that places the battery on the market and describes the battery, not the car's service history.
How much does a VinSnap Vehicle Passport cost?
Starting a passport is free. Add your car in the VinSnap web app or iOS app, log services, scan receipts and share the passport as a private link.
Can a buyer trust the entries in a vehicle passport?
Each stamp shows how it is backed: Receipt-backed (the receipt was scanned in VinSnap), Workshop-verified (a VinSnap Business workshop recorded the job and the owner accepted it) or Owner-reported (typed in by the owner, not checked). Buyers should weigh each entry by its label and still have the car inspected.
Can the owner hide or stop sharing the passport?
Yes. The share link is private and the owner can revoke it. The owner chooses whether the shared page shows the full VIN; workshop names are never shown, and costs and receipt images appear only if the owner turns them on.
A VinSnap Vehicle Passport is a private record kept by the owner. It is not a government document or vehicle registration.
Sources
- Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 on batteries and waste batteries (battery passport, Article 77): eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2023/1542/oj
- Car-Pass (Belgium): car-pass.be
- NHTSA recall lookup (US): nhtsa.gov/recalls
Related: How to decode a VIN · Maintenance tracker · Find parts by VIN