There is no national threshold, and the spread is wide
Most states set a percentage — repair cost against the vehicle’s value before the damage — but the percentage, the base it is measured against, and the carve-outs all move. A few states set no percentage at all.
| Oklahoma | 60 per cent, the lowest figure on file (47 O.S. § 1105). |
| Nebraska | 75 per cent of retail value at the time of the damage (Neb. Rev. Stat. § 60-171). |
| Oregon | 80 per cent of retail market value before the damage (ORS 801.527). |
| Georgia | No fixed percentage. Georgia applies a total-loss formula weighing repair cost against actual cash value with salvage value factored in (O.C.G.A. § 40-3-2). |
| Rhode Island | The threshold moved twice in consecutive legislative sessions — H 6053 (2025) and S 3115 (2026) — and it lives in the insurance code rather than the vehicle code. The current figure and its effective date are not settled here, so no number is printed. |
State statutes as cited. Rhode Island: R.I. Gen. Laws ch. 31-46; Unfair Claims Settlement Practices Act as amended. The Rhode Island effective date was not established from a session law and is deliberately omitted.
In several states the salvage chapter does not reach a commercial truck
This is the finding most likely to be useful and least likely to be known. A salvage statute written around passenger cars can exclude a heavy truck by weight, by age, or by the definition of the vehicle it applies to.
- South Dakota — a weight ceiling and an age gateThe salvage sections stop at 16,000 lb GVWR, and at ten model years (SDCL 32-3-51 and following).
- Tennessee and WyomingThe salvage chapter is written around a class of vehicle that does not include a commercial truck (Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-3-201; W.S. 31-2-107).
- Nevada — the one that is absoluteA non-repairable vehicle certificate cannot be converted to any title. That vehicle does not come back, whatever is done to it (NRS 487.790, NRS 487.860).
“No salvage brand” can therefore mean two entirely different things: that the damage was below the line, or that the statute never applied to the truck in the first place.
Getting a rebuilt title back is not the same job either
Who is allowed to inspect a rebuilt vehicle, and what they certify, is a state choice and the range is unusually wide.
| Georgia | The revenue commissioner inspects before any title issues — VIN verification, paperwork for major components, verification the vehicle was rebuilt in Georgia, and conformity to safety equipment standards (O.C.G.A. § 40-3-37). |
| Nevada | A registered garage, licensed body shop or licensed rebuilder inspects, on Form VP64 (NRS 487.790). |
| Rhode Island | Rebuilding is a licensed activity: a salvage rebuilders’ licence is required before a salvage certificate issues (R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-46-7). No other state on file requires the rebuilder to hold a licence. |
None of this stops the sale
“Salvage title trucks are purchased… the salvage title itself does not disqualify the truck.” — FAQ. There is also a dedicated route at Get a salvage quote.
The one thing worth doing early is saying which brand is on the paper, because it is a fact about the truck and it is better known at the start than at pickup.
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.