Publishing rules
These rules apply to every shop and every software platform that publishes to CarKnown, on the same terms. A published record is permanent, so they are worth reading before the first one.
- Customer agreement comes first
A shop publishes a record only after its customer has agreed. CarKnown does not collect or check that agreement; sending a record is the shop's statement that it was given. A customer who changes their mind after a record is published does not cause it to be removed, so the agreement belongs before the job is published, not after.
- What is published
The work itself: what was found, the labor performed, part names and grades, the odometer or hour meter reading and its unit, trouble codes, tests and measurements, the date and the shop's business name. Photographs and scope captures stay with the shop; only a count and a fingerprint of each file are published. Never published: prices or payments, customer names, addresses, phone numbers or email addresses, the customer's own description of the problem, technician names, parts suppliers, licence plates and fleet numbers. Records containing these are refused, not edited.
- Every record belongs to one vehicle
A record is attached to a single VIN, which must be 17 characters with a valid check digit. A record follows the vehicle, not its owner, and stays with it through every sale. A record sent against the wrong vehicle is marked as published in error (rule 8).
- Every record names the shop that did the work
Each record shows the business that published it and the software platform that sent it. The platform confirms the shop is the business it says it is. CarKnown does not rate shops or judge the quality of a repair; a shop's profile shows only counts of what it has published. Records are history about the vehicle: they keep the shop's name as it was when published, and stay unchanged if the shop later changes its name, closes or changes hands.
- Mistakes are corrected, not rewritten
A shop corrects its own record by publishing a correction. The correction is sealed beside the original and both stay visible. A corrected odometer reading replaces the one it fixes, so it is not flagged as a rollback.
- Records are public
Anyone can look up a VIN and read its records. There are no private records and no accounts needed to read them, which is why nothing about a person is accepted.
- Disputed records are investigated
Anyone who believes a record is inaccurate, contains personal information or belongs to another vehicle can write to privacy@carknown.com. CarKnown investigates with the shop that published it. The outcome is a correction from the shop, the record being marked as published in error, or the record standing as published.
- Records published in error are marked, not deleted
A shop that published a record against the wrong vehicle, twice, as test data or otherwise in error marks it as published in error. The record stays sealed and visible, labeled with the reason, and no longer counts toward the vehicle's history, the shop's totals or mileage checks. The mark cannot be undone. A record's contents are removed only to comply with a legal demand.
- Several shops, one history
A vehicle's page shows every shop's records in one timeline, each labeled with the shop that published it. When readings from different shops conflict, such as a lower odometer reading after a higher one, the conflict is shown rather than resolved. Shops are never ranked against each other.
Software partners: the technical details of every rule are on the developer page. See also terms and privacy.