What is NMVTIS?
The National Motor Vehicle Title Information System (NMVTIS) is an electronic system that provides consumers with valuable information about a vehicle's condition and history. Prior to purchasing a vehicle, NMVTIS allows consumers to find information on the vehicle's title, most recent odometer reading, brand history, and, in some cases, historical theft data.
A “brand” is a descriptive label that a state assigns to a vehicle to identify the vehicle's current or prior condition, such as “junk,” “salvage,” “flood,” or another designation. By capturing into one system-specific information from multiple entities (state motor vehicle titling agencies, automobile recyclers, junk, and salvage yards, and insurance carriers), NMVTIS offers states and consumers protection from title fraud, offers detection of stolen vehicles from being retitled, and makes it more difficult for criminals to use stolen vehicles for criminal purposes.
NMVTIS was created to:
- Prevent the introduction or reintroduction of stolen motor vehicles into interstate commerce;
- Protect states and consumers (individual and commercial) from fraud;
- Reduce the use of stolen vehicles for illicit purposes, including the funding of criminal enterprises; and
- Provide consumers protection from unsafe vehicles.
In addition, the system provides law enforcement with an important tool to reduce auto theft and vehicle-related crimes.
Research Vehicle History using Approved NMVTIS Providers
To search NMVTIS for important vehicle conditions and history information, please select an approved provider. Please note that you will be leaving the Vermont DMV website and accessing the website of an approved NMVTIS Vehicle History Report vendor that has agreed to provide NMVTIS reports to the public consistent with federal legal requirements.
Understanding what information will be included in an NMVTIS Vehicle History Report
Obtaining a report from the National Motor Vehicle Title Information Service (NMVTIS)
NMVTIS: Consumers' Benefits
The law requires NMVTIS information to be made available to prospective purchasers, including businesses that purchase used automobiles or commercial consumers. Commercial consumers include lenders who are financing the purchase of automobiles (and, in many cases, actually own them as the lien holders) and automobile dealers. Lenders and dealers are integral components of the automobile purchasing and titling process, and their ability to avoid fraud also protects individual consumers.
Prior to purchasing a vehicle, consumers can search NMVTIS to discover:
- Information from a vehicle's current title, including the vehicle's brand history. “Brands” are descriptive labels regarding the status of a motor vehicle, such as “junk,” “salvage,” and “flood” vehicles;
- The latest reported odometer readings;
- Any determination that the vehicle is “salvage” by an insurance company or a self-insuring organization (including those vehicles determined to be a “total loss”) and
- Any reports of the vehicle being transferred or sold to an auto recycler, junkyard, or salvage yard.
Through NMVTIS, once a vehicle is branded by a state motor vehicle titling agency, that brand becomes a permanent part of the vehicle's NMVTIS record. Vehicles that incur significant damage are often branded “junk” or “salvage.” Currently, motor vehicles with brands on their titles can, without much difficulty, have their brands “washed” (i.e., removed) from the titles. Brand washing can occur if the motor vehicle is retitled in another state that does not check with the originating state or does not check with all states that previously issued a title on that vehicle to determine whether the vehicle has any existing brands that may not be shown on the current paper title. Fraud can occur when these vehicles are presented for sale to unsuspecting consumers without disclosure of their true condition, including brand history. These consumers may pay more than the vehicle's fair market value and may purchase an unsafe vehicle.