What each source provides
Every CarVinLookup report cross-references four kinds of records. We don't generate any of this data ourselves — we query the same official and industry sources a dealer or insurer would use, and present them in one place.
NMVTISNational Motor Vehicle Title Information System
Title status and title-brand history (salvage, junk, flood, rebuilt) reported by state DMVs, insurance carriers, and salvage yards nationwide, plus the most recent reported odometer reading. NMVTIS is the primary cross-state check for title washing — a brand recorded in one state stays attached to the VIN even if the car is later retitled elsewhere.
U.S. Department of Justice, operated by the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA).
Visit official siteNICBNational Insurance Crime Bureau
Theft records and total-loss (salvage) records reported by participating member insurance companies. This catches vehicles that were reported stolen and not recovered, or totaled by an insurer, at the time of the claim.
A nonprofit funded by insurance companies; participation is voluntary, so coverage depends on which insurers report.
Visit official siteNHTSANational Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Open manufacturer safety recalls tied to the vehicle, sourced from the federal recall database maintained by the U.S. Department of Transportation.
U.S. Department of Transportation.
Visit official siteState DMVsState Departments of Motor Vehicles
Current title state, registration status, and ownership-timeline data, reported into NMVTIS by each state’s titling agency.
Individual state governments.
How a report is built
When you run a VIN, we look it up against each of these sources and combine what comes back into a single report: title status and brand history, the most recent reported odometer reading, theft and total-loss records, open liens, auction and sale history where available, and open safety recalls. The free preview confirms the vehicle's identity — year, make, model — before you pay for the full report.
Honest limitations
No VIN check, from any provider, is a substitute for a professional pre-purchase inspection. A few honest limits worth knowing:
- Reporting is not universal. NICB's theft and salvage data depends on which insurers participate; a claim with a non-participating insurer won't appear.
- Records can lag. A very recent accident, sale, or title change may not have been reported to the underlying database yet.
- A clean report isn't a guarantee. It means no problems were reported to these databases — it doesn't rule out issues that were never reported anywhere, such as unreported minor damage.
- We report what the sources report. We don't independently verify or inspect vehicles; we surface the records these agencies and insurers have on file.
For the terms used throughout a report, see the VIN & title glossary. Ready to check a vehicle? Run a VIN check.