Rebuilt Title Disclosure
Rebuilt title disclosure is mandatory In all 50 states as a part of consumer protection policy. Specific wording for the regulations and terms used may differ, however the essence is always the same: the seller is required to disclose it to the buyer if the vehicle has sustained any serious damage. Depending on the state, the form you have to fill out is called either Salvage Title Disclosure, Salvage/Rebuilt Title Disclosure or Branded Title Disclosure. Each state also has specific guidelines for filling out the forms and requirements how exactly disclosure statement should be done, in which words and even letter size. In most states, misrepresenting the status of a vehicle to a prospective buyer is a third-degree felony. Salvage / rebuilt title disclosure forms can be found at the state DMV / BMV websites and you can read about rebuilt titles in different states on respective pages of our site:
- Alabama Al
- Alaska Ak
- Arizona Az
- Arkansas Ar
- California Ca
- Colorado CO
- Connecticut Ct
- Delaware De
- Florida FL
- Georgia Ga
- Hawaii Hi
- Idaho Id
- Illinois Il
- Indiana In
- Iowa Ia
- Kansas Ks
- Kentucky Ky
- Louisiana La
- Maine Me
- Maryland Md
- Massachusetts Ma
- Michigan Mi
- Minnesota Mn
- Mississippi Ms
- Missouri Mo
- Montana Mt
- Nebraska Ne
- Nevada Nv
- New Hampshire Nh
- New Jersey Nj
- New Mexico Nm
- New York NY
- North Carolina Nc
- North Dakota Nd
- Ohio OH
- Oregon Or
- Pennsylvania Pa
- Rhode Island Ri
- South Carolina Sc
- South Dakota Sd
- Tennessee Tn
- Texas TX
- Utah Ut
- Vermont Vt
- Virginia Va
- Washington Wa
- West Virginia WV
- Wisconsin Wi
- Wyoming Wy
If you are selling a rebuilt car
No matter how good you intentions and how good the rebuilt vehicle your are selling, filling out a rebuilt/salvage title disclosure form is a must in all states if you want to avoid legal problems with the buyers whose expectations regarding the newly purchased vehicle turn out higher than what he or she actually gets and / or if the buyer decides to gain profit from your omission.
If you are buying a rebuilt car
However, please be informed that rebuilt title disclosure protects you only from uninformed purchasing of a vehicle with a salvage history. This means that is does not safeguard the buyer from other potential issues a rebuilt or salvage vehicle can have. Once you are aware about the salvage history of the vehicle you are planning to buy the responsibility for your choice will be yours. However, if you buy a vehicle with a hidden constructive defect that affects its safety and operability and the seller didn't warn you about it or lied about the presence of the issue you may try to sue the seller or rebuilder for false representation and intentional provision of false data.
Other Buyer Protection Requirements
Very often, prospective buyers don't have an opportunity to inspect the title and finding out about a branded title immediately before the deal or when signing the agreements is frustrating. For this reason, in some states (for example, Arkansas) the dealers are obliged to attach a buyer's notification about the branded history to a visible location on the vehicle, like side window, which also includes the information about the damage the vehicle sustained and repairs done.
