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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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