1. A method for decoding a vehicle identification number (VIN), comprising: at a first computer: partitioning a shortened VIN (sVIN) into a sVIN stem and a sVIN leaf; finding one or more matching sVIN leaf values from a set of look up tables utilizing the sVIN stem; assigning one or more trim identification code (TIC) values to the VIN depending upon a match outcome; constructing a candidate list utilizing the one or more TIC values, the candidate list containing one or more candidate trims for the VIN; generating a confidence score and match probability for each of the one or more candidate trims; and based on the confidence score and match probability, providing decoded information for the VIN to a second computer communicatively connected to the first computer over a network connection, the decoded information including trim data associated with at least one of the one or more candidate trims.