canonical: https://jentic.com/apis/plateapi.com.au/plateapi

# PlateAPI

The PlateAPI API looks up Australian vehicle registration plates and returns structured vehicle data as JSON: year range, make, model, body type, engine displacement, and a stable vehicle_id. A lookup takes a plate and a state code such as NSW, VIC, or QLD, and can include a detailed_description with chassis codes, drivetrain, fuel type, and power output where available. Beyond plate lookups, a cascading vehicle database query walks make, model, year, series, engine, and variant for car or motorcycle dropdowns, and a change feed reports vehicles added, updated, or merged since a date. Key usage and lookup history operations show quota, plan, and past results.

## For AI agents

Identify a vehicle from an Australian registration plate and state, browse the PlateAPI vehicle database by make, model, and year, and track vehicle record changes. Also reports quota usage and lookup history for your key.

## Scope

Does not handle registration renewals, owner details, or VIN decoding. Use for identifying vehicles from Australian plates and browsing PlateAPI vehicle records only.

## Capabilities

- Identify a vehicle's make, model, year range, body, and engine from an Australian registration plate and state code
- Request a detailed_description with chassis codes, drivetrain, fuel type, engine code, and power output by setting detailed to true
- Build make, model, year, series, engine, and variant dropdowns for cars or motorcycles from the cascading vehicle database query
- Fetch one vehicle record by its stable vehicle_id to integrate on the id rather than the description text
- Keep stored vehicle records current with the change feed of vehicles added, updated, or merged since a date, paging with next_cursor
- Check plan, quota usage, and billing period for your key, and review past lookups filtered by plate, time range, or outcome

## Use cases

### Agent-Driven Plate Lookup via Jentic

An AI agent helping a parts retailer, insurer, or workshop takes a customer's plate and state from a chat and identifies the exact vehicle. Through Jentic the agent calls the lookupPlate operation, reads the make, model, year range, and engine, and uses the vehicle_id to match parts or quote cover, checking the match value when more than one candidate trim comes back in alternatives.

Example prompt: Look up plate ABC123 in state VIC with detailed true, and if match is multiple, list each candidate's description and vehicle_id from alternatives

### Parts Fitment from a Registration Plate

Online car parts stores ask for a plate instead of a make and model form. The lookup returns a stable vehicle_id that matches records in the PlateAPI vehicle database, so the store maps products to vehicle ids once and shows only fitting parts, and the change feed keeps those mappings current when records are updated or merged.

Example prompt: Look up plate XYZ789 in NSW, then fetch the full record with getVehicle using the returned vehicle_id and report its make, model, and year range

### Vehicle Selector Dropdowns

Sites that let customers pick a vehicle by hand build cascading dropdowns from the queryVehicles operation: call it with no parameters to list makes, then add make, model, year, series, engine, and variant one level at a time until a vehicle record with its vehicle_id is returned. Passing type=motorcycle switches to the motorcycle cascade.

Example prompt: Call queryVehicles with type car and make TOYOTA to list models, then add model COROLLA and year 2005 to list the series

## Key endpoints

| Method | Path | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| GET | `/api/v1/lookup` | Look up a vehicle by registration plate |
| GET | `/api/v1/vehicles` | Query the vehicle database by cascade |
| GET | `/api/v1/vehicles/{vehicle_id}` | Fetch one vehicle by id |
| GET | `/api/v1/vehicles/changes` | List vehicles changed since a date |
| GET | `/api/v1/keys/usage` | Check quota and plan details |
| GET | `/api/v1/keys/logs` | Read lookup history |

## Key resources

- **Plate lookup** — Identify a vehicle from a registration plate and state, with optional detailed description and alternatives.
- **Vehicles** — Cascading make, model, year, series, engine, and variant query, single records by vehicle_id, and a change feed.
- **Keys** — Plan, quota usage, rate limit, and billing period, plus paginated lookup history.
- **Health** — An open health check.

## AI readiness

This API is usable in Jentic One now. Its AI-readiness score against Jentic's framework shows where it stands today and where improvements would make it even easier for agents to use.

- **Score:** 64 / 100
- **Maturity:** AI-Aware
- **Dimensions:**
  - Foundational Compliance: 53 / 100
  - Developer Experience & Jentic Compatibility: 71 / 100
  - AI-Readiness & Agent Experience: 56 / 100
  - Agent Usability: 94 / 100
  - Security: 50 / 100
  - AI Discoverability: 77 / 100
- **View full report:** https://jentic.com/apis/plateapi.com.au/plateapi/scorecard
- **How the score is calculated:** https://docs.jentic.com/reference/api-readiness-framework/overview/
- **More about the dimensions:** https://docs.jentic.com/reference/api-readiness-framework/specification/#dimensional-model-overview

### Score it yourself

Every API in the directory is allowlisted, so you can re-score it with no key required.

- **Score your own API:** https://jentic.com/scorecard.md
- **Scoring CLI agent skill:** https://github.com/jentic/jentic-api-scorecard/blob/main/skills/jentic-api-scorecard/SKILL.md

```sh
npx @jentic/api-scorecard-cli score <openapi-url>
```

## Why Jentic

- **Setup:** Wiring PlateAPI by hand means sending an X-API-Key header from an allowed IP, handling 429 responses from both the rate limit and the plan quota, and paging the vehicle change feed with cursors. Through Jentic you install once, import PlateAPI from the API Directory, store the key once, and your agent looks up plates.
- **Permission scoping:** PlateAPI takes the plate and state as query parameters rather than path segments, so rules bound which operations your agent may call, not which plates. You choose the operations it may call, so key usage and lookup history are not included unless you add them.
- **Credential handling:** Your PlateAPI key is stored once, encrypted, by your own Jentic One instance and injected at execution time. It never enters the agent's prompt, logs, or context.
- **Discovery method:** Agents search Jentic by intent such as 'look up an Australian number plate' or 'list vehicle models for a make', and Jentic returns the matching PlateAPI operation with its input schema so the agent calls the right endpoint without browsing the reference docs.

## Related APIs

- **CarAPI** — CarAPI serves vehicle make, model, and trim data; PlateAPI identifies the vehicle from an Australian registration plate.
- **CarsXE** — CarsXE decodes VINs and plates across several markets; PlateAPI focuses on Australian plates with a matching vehicle database.
- **MarketCheck** — MarketCheck provides vehicle listings and market prices; PlateAPI identifies which vehicle a plate belongs to.

## FAQ

### What authentication does PlateAPI use?

PlateAPI uses an API key sent in the X-API-Key header, per its OpenAPI spec. Keys come from your PlateAPI dashboard, and free keys start with pk_live_. The health check is open and needs no key. A key can also carry an IP allowlist, and a request from an address not on it returns 403. Through Jentic the key is stored encrypted on your own instance and injected at call time.

### Is there a PlateAPI MCP server?

You don't need an MCP server to give your agent PlateAPI. Jentic connects it directly from the API Directory: import PlateAPI, store your API key once, and your agent can look up plates straight away. Operations are discovered on demand, so no extra server's tool definitions sit in your agent's context.

### Can I limit what my agent is allowed to do with PlateAPI?

Yes. Write a rule that allows only lookupPlate and getVehicle, so the agent can identify vehicles and read their records but cannot read your key usage or lookup history, and every call it makes is logged.

### Which states does PlateAPI cover?

The state parameter accepts all eight Australian states and territories: ACT, NSW, NT, QLD, SA, TAS, VIC, and WA. Plates are case-insensitive, may contain letters, numbers, dashes, and spaces, and run to a maximum of 10 characters. The sandbox plate TEST123 returns a fixed response with no quota cost.

### What are the rate limits for PlateAPI?

Per the OpenAPI spec, PlateAPI applies a per-minute limit over a sliding window and a monthly lookup quota, both set by your plan, and returns 429 with a Retry-After header when either is reached. The getKeyUsage operation reports your plan's current quota usage and rate limit; see https://plateapi.com.au for plan figures.

### How do I look up a plate with PlateAPI through Jentic?

Search Jentic for an intent like 'look up an Australian number plate', import PlateAPI, and store your API key once. Your agent then calls lookupPlate at `/api/v1/lookup` with plate and state, and reads the vehicle object and vehicle_id from the response. To run it on your own infrastructure, install Jentic One from its GitHub repo.