Developers

A free, public API and embeddable widget so anywhere people buy or sell second-hand goods can check against StolenOrNot before a sale goes through — classifieds sites, marketplaces, pawn shops, bike shops. No API key, no sign-up.

Try it

Embed the widget

Drop this on any page. It renders an inline search box that checks a code against StolenOrNot and links back here if there's a match — no dependencies, no build step.

<div data-stolenornot-widget></div>
<script src="https://stolenornot.co.za/widget.js"></script>

API reference

GET /api/v1/check?code=<value> — checks a serial number, IMEI, VIN, or frame number. CORS-enabled, so you can call it directly from browser JavaScript on any origin.

Example request

curl "https://stolenornot.co.za/api/v1/check?code=ABC123456"

Match found

{
  "code": "ABC123456",
  "found": true,
  "status": "stolen",
  "url": "https://stolenornot.co.za/item/clx1a2b3c"
}

status is either "stolen" or "recovered".

No match

{
  "code": "ABC123456",
  "found": false,
  "status": null,
  "url": null
}

Rate limits

30 requests per 5 minutes per IP address. A response over the limit returns 429 with a Retry-After header. This is a free service run on modest infrastructure — if you need a higher limit for a legitimate integration, get in touch.

A note on accuracy

StolenOrNot is a community-reported registry, not an official police or insurance database — see our disclaimer. A “not found” result means no one has reported that code stolen here, not that the item is guaranteed legitimate.