Title Search

[rich p]

Thought you guys might like this artile !!

Auto title search opens to public


In a significant victory for consumers, the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System has been made available to the general public.
A statement released by Consumer Action, consumer-action.org, says, 'NMVTIS will contain title information from every state motor vehicle department, every junkyard, salvage yard and insurance carrier. The data will reveal if a car has been so badly damaged that it has been designated as a `totaled' vehicle, has been in a flood, fire, or is on record as stolen. It will also include information about the car's appearance and its latest odometer reading.''

Consumer Action, Public Citizen and Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety sued the Department of Justice for failing to make the database available as mandated by Congress in a 1992 law.

However, Public Citizen, citizen.org, says the information, ''is still incomplete and covers less than two-thirds of U.S. vehicles.'' That is because insurers and junk yards have until March 31 to begin reporting data. Currently, 14 states are not reporting vehicle data at all, while three states that are -- New York, California and Pennsylvania -- are attempting to prevent public access to that data.

The data is available through third-party websites, which charge a nominal fee per record search.

Learn more at nmvtis.gov.

[snydes]

Most likely this won't help for a vehicle more than a few years old, but neat either way.

[Xplantdad]

[ QUOTE ]
What Is NMVTIS?

Established by federal law in 1992, the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System (NMVTIS) is a U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) system that is operated on behalf of DOJ by the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA).
NMVTIS is an electronic system that enables users to access automobile titling information, including brand history and certain historical theft data. A "brand" is a descriptive label assigned to a vehicle by a state that identifies the vehicle's current or prior condition, such as "junk," "salvage," or "flood." By capturing into one system specific pieces of information from state motor vehicle titling agencies, automobile recyclers, junk and salvage yards, and insurance carriers, NMVTIS protects states and consumers from title fraud, keeps stolen vehicles from being retitled, and makes it more difficult for criminals to conceal stolen vehicles for criminal purposes.

NMVTIS is necessary and crucial to:

Protect consumers from fraud and unsafe vehicles.
Aid law enforcement efforts to reduce crime, specifically crimes involving vehicles, including vehicle theft rings, violent crimes, drug crimes, financial crimes, smuggling, and fraud.
Allow state motor vehicle titling agencies to instantly and reliably verify a vehicle's title before issuing a new title, and facilitating the electronic exchange of information between states, which improves titling efficiency and reduces fraud.
NMVTIS is important because:

1.3 million vehicles are stolen each year.
Auto fraud is a profitable business that burdens states and consumers.
Auto theft alone costs consumers and insurance companies nearly $8 billion per year.
Only 63 percent of vehicles reported stolen are recovered.
Approximately 570,000 vehicles were affected by the 2005 hurricanes. These vehicles have been targets for vehicle title fraud ("brand washing").
Creation of false vehicle identification numbers ("VIN Cloning") is a growing trend.
Brand washing occurs regularly. Experian Automotive reported that in the first six months of 2008 there were more than 185,000 titles that were initially branded in one state, and then transferred and re-titled in a second state in a way that resulted in a purportedly clean title.
A clear link has been demonstrated between auto theft and major crimes, violent crime, organized crime, and transnational criminal activity.
Currently 27 states participate or contribute to NMVTIS (view a map of participating states), with 10 others currently working towards participation. All states are required to be fully participating on or before January 1, 2010.

NMVTIS provides consumers and others with vehicle information such as:

Current and previous state of title.
Title issue date.
Most recent odometer reading.
Any brand(s) applied to the vehicle.
Date the brands were applied.
Any auto recycler or junk or salvage yard history for the vehicle.
Any insurance company salvage determination (including "total loss") history for the vehicle.
For specific information on what data is made available and the NMVTIS privacy policy, please go to the Privacy Policy.

Where implemented, NMVTIS has already produced results, including time and cost savings, reductions in consumer wait time, decreases in motor vehicle thefts, improved recovery rate of stolen vehicles, increased ability to identify cloned vehicles before title issuance, and improved investigative abilities.

Currently, there are approximately 300,000,000 VINs in NMVTIS and over 40,000,000 brands included.




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[mockingbird812]

Good Stuff!!!!!

[Hylton]

So if I am reading this correctly, someone will be able to give the VIN number of their classic car and at least get a report as to which states it has at one time been titled in.

You may not get a previous owners name, but it may open up a few dead ends.

[gb70]

Maybe now or perhaps soon I can help my mother in law find my late father in laws stolen 1963 Corvette. It was stolen 35 years ago from the Lockhead parking lot in Mountain View, Ca.

[AutoInsane]

Here is their website:

http://www.nmvtis.gov/

Here is a sample report:

http://www.add123.com/multi-state/sample-report

Doesn't seem like a wealth of information...... ??

[AutoInsane]

Seems like it is a resource for current vehicle information not historical:

The National Motor Vehicle Title Information System (NMVTIS) is a system that allows an electronic means to verify and exchange titling, brand, and odometer data among motor vehicle administrators, law enforcement officials, prospective purchasers, and insurance carriers. Auto Data Direct, Inc. (ADD) contracts with the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA) to provide multi-state vehicle data using NMVTIS.

NMVTIS data allows state titling agencies to verify the validity of ownership documents before they issue new titles. NMVTIS also keeps a history of all "brands" ever applied by any state to the vehicle. "Brands" define the status of a vehicle such as "theft", "flood", "salvage", "rebuilt", "kit", etc. and are not lost when the vehicle travels from state to state.

NMVTIS is operated by AAMVA under the auspices of the Department of Justice. Over half of the states currently provide motor vehicle data to this database. By accessing NMVTIS, ADD customers have valuable information available to them.

ADD provides customers access to:

Current state of title
Title issue date
Odometer reading
Previous state of title
Current brand(s)
Previous brand(s)
Date the brands were applied (In the states participating in NMVTIS)


Perhaps "previous state of issue" would be interesting....

[x Baldwin Motion]

[ QUOTE ]
....... it may open up a few dead ends.

[/ QUOTE ]

[JRSully]

If the state in question has purged it's old vehicle database, it will be a mute point anyway, bit worth a shot nonetheless