US buyer guide
How to check for a salvage or rebuilt title by VIN
A salvage or rebuilt brand tells you a car was once written off. Here is what each brand means, how to check a VIN for one, how brands get washed off a title, and what to do if the car you want has one.
Sample reports:2023 Ford F-1502022 Chevy Silverado2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee2021 BMW X32003 Honda Accord
What the brands mean
| Brand | What it usually means |
|---|---|
| Salvage | An insurer declared the car a total loss: repairing it would have cost more than a set share of its value, so the insurer paid out instead. The FTC describes it as a total loss after a serious accident or some other problem. |
| Rebuilt or reconstructed | A totaled car that was repaired and retitled. NHTSA says it is legal to resell one to consumers when the damage is noted on the title, the car has been rebuilt and it has a rebuilt title. Each state sets its own rules for getting one. |
| Flood | Damage from sitting in water deep enough to fill the engine compartment, in the FTC’s words. Some states have no flood brand at all. |
| Junk | Like salvage, a brand states use for vehicles with significant damage. What a junk-branded car may be used for afterwards depends on the state. |
| Total loss (insurer record) | Not a brand. Insurers report total losses to NMVTIS even when the state never brands the title, and a stolen car not recovered within 30 days can be declared a total loss. |
Brand names and the damage needed to earn one are set by each state. NMVTIS keeps every brand any reporting state has applied, so the record follows the car across state lines.
How to check a VIN for a salvage or rebuilt title
1. Get the right VIN. Match the 17 characters on the dashboard plate, the driver’s door label and the title, then decode the VIN to confirm the year and model. NICB notes that a wrong VIN may miss a matching record.
2. Run NICB VINCheck (free). It shows whether participating insurers have reported the car as salvage, flood-damaged, or stolen and not recovered. NICB says those insurers write 92.49 percent of US earned insurance premium (as of August 2026). You get five searches per IP address per 24 hours.
3. Get an NMVTIS report (low fee). It lists the current and previous titling states, every brand with the date it was applied, salvage and total-loss history, junk and salvage yard records and the latest title odometer reading. Approved providers are listed on the official NMVTIS site. Fuller history reports, from those providers and others, can add data such as accident and repair records.
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4. Read the paper title. Compare it with the reports. NMVTIS holds only part of what states keep, and it suggests checking the current state’s full title record before you buy. Each NMVTIS consumer report links to how to request it.
Title washing, and what the checks can miss
A brand can disappear from a paper title when the car is retitled in a state that does not check with the states that titled it before. NMVTIS cites an Experian Automotive finding of more than 185,000 titles branded in one state and then retitled with a clean title in another in the first six months of 2008. NMVTIS exists to stop this, because it keeps every reported brand and states can query it before issuing a title.
- Not every source reports yet. NMVTIS warns that a search can wrongly show “no junk or salvage history,” and that private history databases have the same gaps.
- Older cars. Insurers must report total losses for the current model year and the four before it. Junk and salvage yards report every vehicle regardless of age.
- Uninsured cars. A car with no insurance at the time of the damage has no insurer record for NICB to find.
- Damage that was repaired, not totaled. If no insurer declared a total loss and no state applied a brand, NMVTIS will not show it. Our accident history guide covers how to look for that.
NHTSA warns buyers to beware of flood-damaged cars sold with clean or “lost” titles.
If the car has a salvage or rebuilt title
A brand is a reason to slow down, not always a reason to walk away. The price should reflect it, and you should know exactly what happened.
- Ask why it was totaled. Crash, flood, fire or theft recovery all lead to the same records. A theft recovery with no damage is a very different car from a flood car. If it was water, read how to check for flood damage.
- Ask for the repair records and photos of the damage before repair.
- Pay for an independent inspection. The FTC says a history report is not a substitute for one and that a report typically will not list mechanical problems. Ask the mechanic for a written report with the VIN and a repair estimate, and use it to negotiate. If a dealer will not allow an inspection, the FTC suggests going to another dealer.
- Call your insurer and lender before you commit, and ask how they handle a branded title.
- Check the mileage too. Title paperwork is where odometer fraud shows up: see how to check for odometer rollback.
- Not every brand is damage. A manufacturer buyback brand means a warranty defect, not a crash: see how to check for a lemon law buyback.
The rest of the pre-purchase checks, including free recalls by VIN, are in our used car checklist by VIN.
Report a hidden salvage title
If you think a seller is passing off a salvage or storm-damaged car as a clean one, the FTC says to contact NICB (online or at 800-TEL-NICB, 800-835-6422), report it to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov, and tell your state attorney general.
FAQ
Can I check if a car has a salvage title for free?
Partly. NICB VINCheck is free and shows salvage, flood and theft records reported by participating insurers. The state title brands themselves come from an NMVTIS report, which approved providers sell for a fee; NMVTIS says fees ranged from $8 to $12.99 per report as of May 2020.
What is the difference between a salvage title and a rebuilt title?
A salvage brand means an insurer or the state treated the car as a total loss. A rebuilt (or reconstructed) title means the car was then repaired and retitled under that state’s rules, so it can be driven and sold again. The salvage history stays in the record either way.
Can a salvage brand be removed from a title?
Not from NMVTIS: once a state brands a vehicle, the brand becomes a permanent part of its NMVTIS record. A paper title can lose a brand when the car is retitled in a state that does not check the earlier states’ records. That is called title or brand washing.
Does a total loss always mean the title is branded salvage?
No. State thresholds differ, so one state may brand a damaged car salvage and another may not. The NMVTIS disclaimer notes an insurer may have to report a total loss even if the titling state never brands it, and a recovered stolen car can carry a total-loss record with no damage.
Why does NICB show nothing when the title says salvage?
VINCheck only searches records from participating insurers, and only for cars that were insured when the loss happened. NICB says it is not a full vehicle history report and that a car can be seriously damaged without a VINCheck record.
Sources
- NMVTIS: For consumers (five key indicators, coverage gaps, total-loss meaning)
- NMVTIS: Frequently asked questions (what a report contains)
- NMVTIS Consumer Access Product Disclaimer (what an NMVTIS report includes and leaves out)
- NMVTIS (U.S. Department of Justice): research vehicle history and approved data providers
- NICB VINCheck: free theft and salvage check
- NHTSA: Hurricane- and flood-damaged vehicles (salvage, flood and rebuilt titles; signs of flood damage; EV batteries)
- FTC consumer alert: Don’t get swamped buying a flood-damaged car (Oct 30, 2018; salvage vs. flood titles)
- FTC consumer alert: How to steer clear of a flood-damaged car (Nov 15, 2022)
- FTC: Buying a used car from a dealer (Buyers Guide, independent inspection)
Published 2026-10-21. Car Codebook is independent and not affiliated with NHTSA or any manufacturer. This guide is general information, not legal advice. Spotted an error? Email hello@carcodebook.com.
Related
- How to check if a car was flood damagedFree VIN checks for flood records, why clean titles still slip through, and the signs to look for in person.
- How to check a car’s accident history by VINWhat free checks and paid history reports show about past crashes, what they miss, and the signs to look for in person.
- Used car buying checklist: what to check with the VINTen checks before you pay: VIN match, decode, recalls, title brands, theft, odometer, sticker and inspection.