Title Verification
Verify title status and title brand history for any vehicle
A vehicle's title is the legal document that establishes ownership. Title verification checks the current status of the title and reveals any title brands - official designations applied by state DMVs that indicate significant events in the vehicle's history, such as being declared a total loss, sustaining flood damage, or being bought back under a lemon law.
Title Brands We Check
Salvage Title
The vehicle was declared a total loss by an insurance company. The cost to repair exceeded a threshold set by the state (typically 75–90% of market value).
Rebuilt / Reconstructed
A previously salvaged vehicle that has been repaired and passed a state inspection. It may be road-legal but typically has reduced resale value.
Flood Damage
The vehicle sustained significant water damage, usually from a natural disaster. Flood vehicles often develop long-term electrical and corrosion problems.
Lemon / Manufacturer Buyback
The vehicle was repurchased by the manufacturer under a state lemon law due to recurring, unfixable defects during the warranty period.
Junk Title
The vehicle has been designated as only suitable for parts or scrap. Junk-titled vehicles generally cannot be re-registered for road use.
Odometer Discrepancy
The title indicates that the odometer reading is not accurate - it may have been rolled back, replaced, or exceeded its mechanical limit.
Theft Recovery
The vehicle was reported stolen and later recovered. Theft-recovered vehicles may have sustained damage or have missing components.
Hail Damage
The vehicle sustained cosmetic or structural damage from a hailstorm significant enough to warrant a title brand.
Why Title Verification Matters
Title washing - the practice of re-registering a branded vehicle in a different state to remove the brand - is a known form of fraud. A title check that reviews records across all 50 states helps detect these schemes. Additionally:
- A salvage or rebuilt title can reduce a vehicle's value by 20–40%
- Some insurance companies will not fully cover rebuilt or salvage-titled vehicles
- Financing a vehicle with a branded title may be more difficult or carry higher rates
- Flood-damaged vehicles often have hidden problems that surface months or years later
Clean Title vs. Branded Title
A clean title means no significant events have been recorded against the vehicle by a state DMV. A branded title indicates one or more events that materially affect the vehicle's value, safety, or insurability. Not all branded titles are equal - a hail damage brand is very different from a junk title - which is why understanding the specific brand matters.
Verify a vehicle's title status
Title information is included in every LookupVIN report.
RUN VIN CHECK