ACES (Aftermarket Catalog Exchange Standard)
ACES is the Auto Care Association's data standard for communicating vehicle-fitment applications — which year, make, model, engine, and configuration a part fits — as machine-readable XML shared across the automotive aftermarket. It's built from reference databases the Auto Care Association maintains: VCdb (vehicle configurations), PCdb (part categories, shared with PIES), Qdb (fitment qualifiers like "with air conditioning"), and the Brand Table. ACES answers "does this part fit this vehicle"; its companion standard, PIES, answers "what is this part." ACES 5.0, released in April 2026 alongside PIES 8.0, is the current version.
What an ACES application record contains
Each ACES "application" ties a part — identified by a PCdb part-terminology ID, not free text — to a specific VCdb vehicle configuration: year, make, model, submodel, engine base and configuration, and body or drive type where relevant. Qualifiers pulled from Qdb narrow it further, such as "with tow package," "without ABS," or "left-hand drive," so a part isn't overclaimed as fitting every trim of a model when it only fits some. A single part number can carry hundreds or thousands of application records; brake calipers and sensors routinely do.
VCdb is the part ACES can't function without
VCdb (Vehicle Configuration Database) is the Auto Care Association's canonical list of vehicle configurations — tens of thousands of year/make/model/engine/trim combinations spanning cars, light trucks, medium and heavy duty, powersports, and off-highway equipment. Every ACES application record references a VCdb vehicle ID rather than typing "2019 Ford F-150" as text, which is what lets a distributor's fitment search match a part to a customer's VIN-decoded vehicle reliably across every supplier's catalog, not just the one that authored the record.
ACES and PIES together, not separately
A supplier building a catalog record publishes an ACES file (fitment) and a PIES file (product attributes, pricing, packaging, assets) for the same part, joined by part number and the shared PCdb part-terminology ID. Distributors, marketplaces, and fitment-based storefronts — auto parts retailers whose entire search experience runs on year/make/model selection — ingest both together. An ACES record with no matching PIES record is a fitment claim with no product behind it, and vice versa.
Where ACES data goes wrong
Overfitment — claiming a part fits every configuration of a model year when it only fits a subset — is the most common and most costly error, since it surfaces as a wrong part shipped rather than a missing search result. It usually traces back to applying fitment at the model level instead of validating against the specific VCdb configuration and Qdb qualifiers. Stale VCdb references are the second recurring problem: the Auto Care Association adds new model years and configurations on its own schedule, and a catalog built against an older VCdb snapshot can't represent the newest vehicles until it's refreshed.
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between ACES and a VIN decoder?
A VIN decoder reads a vehicle identification number and returns its VCdb-equivalent configuration (year, make, model, engine, trim). ACES is the catalog side: it maps parts to VCdb configurations. Most fitment search tools chain the two — decode the VIN, then look up which ACES application records match that configuration.
Does ACES cover only cars and light trucks?
No. VCdb, the vehicle database ACES applications reference, also covers medium and heavy-duty trucks, powersports (motorcycles, ATVs, UTVs), and off-highway, agricultural, and equipment vehicles, each with their own configuration attributes.
Can I publish ACES data without PIES?
The files are validated independently, but a fitment record with no corresponding product record isn't sellable — retailers and distributors expect both for a given part number, and most catalog ingestion pipelines flag or reject one without the other.
What changed in ACES 5.0?
ACES 5.0 shipped in April 2026 alongside PIES 8.0 after a yearlong industry review, as part of the coordinated release the Auto Care Association uses to keep fitment and product-attribute data validated against consistent reference databases.