ADF XML validator
Paste your ADF lead. Get a pass or fail check and every field parsed out.
Runs in your browser. Nothing you paste is uploaded or saved.
Result
Fields found
The format dealer CRMs read leads in.
ADF (Auto-lead Data Format) is the XML format the auto industry has used to send sales leads since version 1.0 was published in 2000. Dealer websites, listing sites, and lead providers send leads as ADF so a CRM can import them without anyone retyping. Most CRMs accept ADF by email, at a lead address they give you. A malformed lead can be rejected or arrive missing the shopper's details.
A minimum valid lead needs
- A request date and time
- At least one vehicle with a year, make, and model
- A customer name, plus a phone number or email
- The dealership name, in the vendor block
Everything else is optional, but VIN and stock number help your team find the exact car fast.
Why ADF leads get rejected.
These are the issues the validator checks for. Most come from a form or integration that was never tested against a real CRM.
A bare ampersand
One unescaped &, as in "Smith & Sons", breaks the whole file. Write it as & or wrap the text in CDATA.
No way to reach the shopper
A contact with a name but no phone or email. ADF requires at least one, and your team can't follow up without it.
Missing year, make, or model
These are the minimum vehicle details in ADF. Without them the lead can't be matched to a car.
Dates CRMs misread
A date like 10/19/2026 can be read more than one way. Use ISO 8601 with a time zone: 2026-10-19T14:32:00-05:00.
Wrong case
XML is case-sensitive. status="Used" is not status="used", and <Vehicle> is not <vehicle>.
Text around the XML
Forwarded emails pick up headers and signatures, and logs often HTML-escape the XML. The validator strips both and tells you.
ADF 1.0 elements at a glance.
The elements most leads use, in the order ADF 1.0 expects them.
| Element | Inside | Required | What it holds |
|---|---|---|---|
adf | Root | Yes | Wraps one or more prospects. |
prospect | adf | Yes | One lead. status="new" or "resend". |
id | prospect, vehicle, customer, vendor, provider | No | An identifier. source names the system that issued it. |
requestdate | prospect | Yes | When the lead was submitted, in ISO 8601: 2026-10-19T14:32:00-05:00. |
vehicle | prospect | Yes, one or more | interest: buy, sell, lease, trade-in, or test-drive. status: new or used (default new). |
year, make, model | vehicle | Yes | The minimum vehicle details. |
vin, stock, trim | vehicle | No | Identify the exact vehicle in your inventory. |
odometer | vehicle | No | Mileage as a number. units: mi or km. |
price | vehicle | No | A plain number. type: quote, offer, msrp, invoice, call, appraisal, or asking. currency: USD. |
customer | prospect | Yes | The shopper: a contact, plus optional timeframe and comments. |
contact | customer, vendor, provider | Yes in customer and vendor | A name, at least one email or phone, then an optional address. |
name | contact, provider | Yes | part: full, first, middle, last, or surname. type: individual or business. |
email | contact, provider | Email or phone | preferredcontact="1" marks the way the shopper wants to be reached. |
phone | contact, provider | Email or phone | type: voice, cellphone, fax, or pager. time: morning, afternoon, evening, day, or nopreference. |
address | contact | No | street, apartment, city, regioncode, postalcode, and country, in that order. |
vendor | prospect | Yes | The dealership: vendorname, an optional url, and a contact. |
provider | prospect | No | Who generated the lead, such as a website or listing site. |
Leads that arrive clean.
Every DriveDevs dealer website sends leads to your CRM as ADF XML. We'll design a free preview of yours.
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