[njsteve]

There are time limits for data retention based on storage capacity. There is a certain amount of time that vehicle registration information stays in DMV records. There is simply not enough capacity, both for the physical storage of paper records and the storage of digital records to retain the information for every car ever registered since 1898. Usually its 15 to 20 years. After that it's purged from their systems. NICB holds onto to data much longer due to the possibility of monetary claims arising from past losses.

Yes, it would be nice to have NICB accessible by DMVs but it is only open to law enforcement and insurance fraud investigators. One of the problems is that not many law enforcement people know about it.