Vehicle damage grades describe different things
A damage code, a component severity grade and a whole-car condition grade answer different questions. They need separate names, source versions and evidence. A numerical resemblance does not make them interchangeable.
Correction to this article: Verify's historical aiag_codes values, such as
DFR-SC-1, are proprietary legacy strings, not verified official AIAG M-22 codes.
Verify's K1–K5 aggregate is also separate from both M-22 and the newer five-grade
visible-component rubric. Existing API values remain compatible; their provenance
is clarified here.
Vehicle appraisal pricing: $2.00 per completed appraisal, including up to 16 original photos and detailed damage analysis. Single-photo API checks are a separate product and do not include the appraisal workflow. See the offer and arrange production access.
What each scale means
| Record | What it describes | Direction and limits |
|---|---|---|
| Verify legacy severity | An individual visible finding | Light, medium or severe, with none separate |
| Verify legacy K grade | An aggregate of the supplied finding list | K1 has no non-none findings; K2–K5 follow Verify's count and severity rules |
| Verify visible component grade | The visible condition of one component | 1–5, higher means more damage; clear is ungraded |
| AIAG M-22 | Industry damage classification | Exact edition, errata, measurements where required and applicable OEM rules |
| NAAA vehicle grade | Whole-vehicle condition | 0–5, higher means better condition; requires broader evidence than exterior photos |
A bumper can have a scratch, a dent and a crack. Those are three observations with separate regions and evidence, while the visible bumper grade remains one component-level record. Neither the observation count nor that component grade establishes a repair cost or customer deduction percentage.
Official sources and interoperability
AIAG lists M-22 edition 6. The February 2025 errata changes how multiple damages on one panel are handled and points to OEM guidance. A reliable integration needs the authorized base codebook and the applicable rules. Verify's new adapter boundary returns unavailable status until those sources and a reviewed mapping are installed; it does not fabricate official codes.
The NAAA grading scale addresses the vehicle as a whole. Its condition-report position statement also explains the limits of visual inspection. A photo-derived component score cannot establish a complete mechanical, structural or battery assessment.
ECG inspection guidance provides procedural context for finished-vehicle logistics. CIECA provides BMS and CAPIS message standards. PCdb provides part terminology. These serve different purposes, and each requires its own source version, usage rights and integration validation.
Evidence before a decision
Retain original photos, finding IDs, review corrections, visibility limitations and the version of any rubric. Unknown identity or an obscured component remains unresolved. Physical measurements need units and provenance; image pixels alone are not millimetres. Model agreement and customer acceptance require representative validation and cannot be inferred from passing software tests.
A customer can apply an approved price or deduction matrix to condition evidence. That financial policy remains independent of the damage taxonomy. Historical signed reports and recorded decisions should retain the versions under which they were produced.
The implementation guide documents the compatible legacy fields and the account-gated, unsigned standards supplement. It includes separate defects, component grades and explicit adapter availability without rewriting existing reports.