Who has to report, and how often
| States — 28 CFR 25.54 | Titling information for all automobiles maintained by the state, updated “at a frequency of once every 24 hours”: the VIN, any description on the certificate of title including all brands, the name of the person the certificate was issued to, junk or salvage acquisitions where the state collects them, and the odometer disclosure required under 49 U.S.C. 32705. |
| Insurance carriers — 28 CFR 25.55 | On a monthly basis as designated by the operator, for automobiles of the current model year or any of the four prior model years. |
| Junk yards, salvage yards and auto recyclers — 28 CFR 25.56 | Monthly, giving the reporting entity’s details, the VIN, the date the automobile was obtained, who it was obtained from, and whether it was crushed or disposed of. |
Part 25 subpart B also carries § 25.51 purpose and authority, § 25.52 definitions, § 25.53 the operator’s responsibilities and § 25.57 erroneous junk or salvage reporting.
28 CFR 25.54, 25.55, 25.56.
And this is where it stops
Every one of those duties is written about an “automobile”. 28 CFR 25.52 defines that term by reference to the fuel-economy statute:
and 49 U.S.C. 32901(a)(3): “a 4-wheeled vehicle that is propelled by fuel, or by alternative fuel, manufactured primarily for use on public streets, roads, and highways and rated at less than 10,000 pounds gross vehicle weight”.
So as the rule is written, the reporting duties in Part 25 subpart B do not reach a vehicle rated at 10,000 lb gross vehicle weight or above — which is every Class 3 truck and everything larger.
That is a statement about what the regulation requires, not a prediction about what any particular state or insurer actually submits. A state is free to report more than the rule obliges it to, and the right way to find out what exists for one VIN is to run a report on that VIN.
28 CFR 25.52 · 49 U.S.C. 32901(a)(3).
Two definitions worth having in plain sight
| Junk automobile | “an automobile that—(1) Is incapable of operating on public streets, roads, and highways; and (2) Has no value except as a source of parts or scrap”. |
| Salvage automobile | “an automobile that is damaged by collision, fire, flood, accident, trespass, or other event, to the extent that its fair salvage value plus the cost of repairing the automobile for legal operation on public streets, roads, and highways would be more than the fair market value of the automobile immediately before the event that caused the damage”. |
The salvage definition is a 100 per cent test. It is stricter than most state salvage thresholds, which is one reason a vehicle can be branded by a state without meeting this federal description. State salvage thresholds →
28 CFR 25.52.
Where it turns up in practice
An NMVTIS report is not only a buyer’s tool. Georgia requires one as part of a bonded title application, so a seller with no title meets NMVTIS on the way in rather than on the way out. Georgia title bond →
Current as of 14 September 2026. This page describes rules, not your situation, and it is information rather than legal advice. Rules change; the linked official source is always the current one.