News in 2010

Californians, Floridians Making Use of Federal VIN Search

on Monday, June 28, 2010 by Sarah Kathryn McRae

On average, 42 million used cars are sold in the United States every year, and today’s used car buyers are turning to the internet to research potential purchases. With the help of the recently launched National Motor Vehicle Title Information System (NMVTIS), consumers have more information at their fingertips than ever before.

Launched in 2009, NMVTIS is a U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) database that contains automobile information from states, insurance carriers and the salvage industry. Auto Data Direct, Inc. (ADD) is a public-access portal to NMVTIS information, providing individuals and businesses vehicle history reports that show a vehicle’s state titling history, any brands such as Rebuilt or Salvage that have been applied to the titles and reported odometer readings. If an insurance company has declared the vehicle a total loss, or a salvage yard has reported handling the vehicle, that information is included as well.

Since the program began, California and Florida vehicles have made up more than 45% of the reports accessed through ADD, with Texas, Virginia and Washington as the next most common titling states. According to DOJ, 82% of United States DMV data is in the NMVTIS system, as well as 16.7 million salvage or total loss records from the insurance and salvage industries. A complete list of state motor-vehicle administration data included in NMVTIS is available on the Department of Justice website.

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ADD provides consumer access to the NMVTIS search from its homepage, www.add123.com. ADD account holders can search from the Multi-State Title Pointer (NMVTIS) under the New Query tab.