ACES and PIES data is the product catalog a US auto parts retailer needs before your SKU can go live: ACES says which vehicles a part fits, PIES says what the product is. The current versions are ACES 5.0 and PIES 8.0, released April 2026. Retailers grade the files on coverage, completeness, accuracy and update cadence.
The short version. Clean ACES and PIES files are a gate, not a differentiator. Missing or thin data does not lose the pitch, it stops the program after you win it. Get a Brand ID, subscribe to the reference databases, build PIES first, measure ACES coverage against each retailer's top vehicles, validate, and set a refresh cadence before the line review.
ACES and PIES data in one minute
ACES, the Aftermarket Catalog Exchange Standard, maps each part to the vehicles it fits by year, make, model, engine and qualifiers such as "with tow package." PIES, the Product Information Exchange Standard, carries everything about the product itself: descriptions, attributes, dimensions, pack data, images, UPC, pricing and hazmat codes. ACES is what it fits. PIES is what it is.
Both are XML standards governed by the Auto Care Association and built against shared reference databases, so a retailer's system can read any supplier's file the same way. For a plain-English walk through the fields, read ACES and PIES, explained. This guide covers what a manufacturer needs to have in place to sell into US automotive retail.
What changed in 2026: ACES 5.0 and PIES 8.0
The Auto Care Association released ACES 5.0 and PIES 8.0 on April 2, 2026, together with new versions of every reference database: VCdb 2.0, Qdb 2.0, PCdb 2.0, PAdb 5.0 and Brand Table 2.0.
Two rules make the release matter for your next review. The association supports only the current version and the one before it, and each release goes through an industry review period before rollout. A catalog built against an older version will fall out of support, and a buyer who sees a file two versions behind reads it as a program nobody is maintaining.
The reference databases behind the files
ACES and PIES files do not describe vehicles or part types in free text. They point at codes in shared databases, which is what makes a file readable by every trading partner:
| Database | What it holds | Update schedule |
|---|---|---|
| VCdb | Vehicle configurations: more than 175,000 vehicle applications and 2.4 million system configurations | Monthly download, daily by API |
| Qdb | More than 26,000 standardized fitment qualifiers | Monthly download, daily by API |
| PCdb | The part type classification system | Monthly download, daily by API |
| PAdb | Coded product attributes used in PIES, the form, fit and function data | Monthly download, daily by API |
| Brand Table | Codes for parent companies, brands and sub-brands, the Brand ID trading partners key on | Daily download and API |
See the VCdb, Qdb and PAdb pages for detail. Monthly VCdb updates are why a catalog built once goes stale: new vehicles enter the database every month, and your coverage percentage falls unless you map them.
What retailers actually check
The clearest view of what retailers grade is the Receiver's Choice Awards, which AutoZone, O'Reilly and Advance Auto Parts help judge. Suppliers are judged on four core guidelines, plus criteria each receiver adds, and those four are what a buyer's data team looks at:
- Completeness. Every SKU present, every required PIES attribute filled, images at the resolution the retailer asks for. Pack and dimension data has to match the shelf-ready packaging you actually ship.
- Accuracy. Fitment that puts the part on the right vehicles and only those. A wrong fitment shows up as a return and a return-rate problem.
- Delivery cadence. Files that arrive on a predictable schedule and pick up new vehicles as the VCdb adds them.
- Communication. Someone who answers when the retailer's catalog team finds a problem.
In the line review itself the question is coverage: of the vehicles that matter most in this retailer's market, what percentage does your line fit? A wiper program at 62% of top vehicles starts behind one at 91% before price is discussed, which is part of how an AutoZone buyer weighs a new supplier against the incumbent. That is why ACES coverage belongs in the category data you bring to the review and on the line review readiness checklist.
Marketplaces are more explicit. Walmart Marketplace requires the Part Terminology ID, Brand ID and manufacturer part number on each listing to match the ACES file exactly. Amazon takes ACES through its Automotive Fitment Manager and requires the Brand ID in the file header.
Application-specific vs. universal categories
How much weight each standard carries depends on the category:
- Application-specific (wipers, filters, brakes, lighting and bulbs, vehicle-specific fluids and accessories). ACES coverage is a go or no-go filter. No fitment means no lookup result, which means no sale, and an uncovered vehicle is white space on the planogram a competitor can fill.
- Universal (car care, cargo, emergency, cleaning). PIES is what you are graded on: attributes, images, dimensions and copy. Thin PIES data pushes a line to "revisit next cycle." It also weakens the category management case for adding SKUs.
Either way, data problems surface after the win, during new item setup, alongside EDI and DC readiness. A setup that stalls on data eats the first 60 days of the program.
What access and tooling cost
Access to the reference databases is a paid annual subscription through autocarevip.com. The association publishes its subscription prices, tiered by company revenue and membership. Prices run from a $2,500 entry package for members under $1 million in revenue to more than $12,000 a year for a non-member VCdb subscription at the top tier.
Tooling is the larger cost for most manufacturers past a few dozen SKUs, because the files have to be built, validated and refreshed every month. Put both in your cost-to-serve model; it is infrastructure, not overhead, and it belongs in the margin math alongside slotting and freight.
Data management platforms
Nobody maintains ACES by hand for long. These platforms build, validate and distribute ACES and PIES files:
- DCi, an ARI company, catalog data services for aftermarket brands. dcinet.com
- Epicor PIM for Automotive, formatting, validation and publishing to trading partners. epicor.com
- PCFitment, a PIM with ACES and PIES validation. pcfitment.com
- SEMA Data, the PartsHub platform with a data scorecard and reseller distribution. semadata.org
- Syndigo, which includes 1WorldSync, validation against ACES and PIES. syndigo.com
- TecAlliance, which acquired OptiCat and offers ACES and PIES mapping, validation and publishing. tecallianceamericas.com
- WHI Solutions Evocat, for creating, maintaining and distributing ACES and PIES data. whisolutions.com
Pick the platform before you build the catalog. Moving a catalog between platforms is slow, and the choice decides how easily you can feed each retailer. If a sales partner will own your data, confirm it in writing; the directory of rep agencies and retail partners lists what each firm says it covers.
The readiness sequence before a line review
Start at least 90 days before the review, earlier if you have hundreds of SKUs. The order matters:
- Register your Brand ID in the Brand Table at autocarevip.com. Retailers and marketplaces key your files to it, and the brand name must match what they have on file.
- Subscribe to the databases you need: VCdb for fitment, PAdb for attributes.
- Choose your platform before building anything.
- Build PIES first. Universal categories can sell on PIES alone; application-specific parts cannot sell without ACES, but PIES is the base both need.
- Set coverage targets by retailer against their top vehicles, and put the number in your line review deck.
- Validate with the association's Catalog Assessment Tool, free to subscribers and updated for ACES 5.0 and PIES 8.0.
- Set a monthly refresh to match the VCdb schedule, and plan a larger update for each new model year.
Time the work against the retailer reset calendar, not the meeting date. The file has to be clean when the item is set up, which can be weeks after the review. Clean data also protects you between reviews, on the vendor scorecard and in line review optimization.
Frequently asked questions
What is ACES and PIES data?
ACES and PIES are the automotive aftermarket's catalog data standards. ACES lists which vehicles a part fits. PIES describes the product: attributes, dimensions, images, UPC and pricing. Retailers load both into their lookup tools, e-commerce sites and item setup systems.
What is the current version of ACES and PIES?
ACES 5.0 and PIES 8.0, released by the Auto Care Association on April 2, 2026. The association supports the current version and the one before it, so plan to move your catalog to the new versions rather than stay on older ones.
Do I need ACES and PIES data to sell to AutoZone or O'Reilly?
For any application-specific part, yes in practice: without fitment data the part does not appear in the vehicle lookup, so it cannot sell. For universal products, PIES data is what item setup and e-commerce listings run on. Have both ready before the line review.
How much does ACES and PIES data cost?
Database access is a paid annual subscription, published by the Auto Care Association, from $2,500 for small members to more than $12,000 a year at the top non-member tier. Data management platforms are a separate cost that grows with SKU count and update frequency.
What is a Brand ID in ACES?
A Brand ID is the four-letter code for your brand in the Auto Care Brand Table. Retailers and marketplaces such as Walmart and Amazon use it to match your ACES file to your listings, so register it before you build or send any files.