Types of Car Titles — Clean Is Only the First.
A car title is either clean or branded, and the brands come in about a dozen families, from salvage and junk to lemon buyback and gray market. Each state prints its own word for them, so here is what every type means and how to check which one a car carries.
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Quick Answer
- What are the types of car titles?
- A title is either clean, meaning no brand has been recorded, or branded. The brands fall into about a dozen families: salvage, rebuilt, junk, flood and other damage, lemon buyback, odometer brands, bonded, prior taxi or police use, gray market, replica, and reissued VIN. The national brand dictionary our reports read holds 68 codes.
- What does title status mean?
- It is the title's current condition: clean, or carrying one or more brands. The exact word depends on the state that issued it. Florida prints Salvage Rebuildable, Texas REBUILT SALVAGE, and New Jersey never prints “rebuilt” at all.
- Which title types should a buyer avoid?
- Junk and nonrepairable titles are parts only in most states, and Texas will not title a gray market or export-only car. A salvage car cannot be driven until it is rebuilt. The rest depend on the car. Run the VIN to see every brand on record: our full report is $14.99.
From the car's history to the word on the title
Every title type starts as an event, becomes a national code, and ends as one state's chosen word. Knowing the chain is how you read a title from another state.
- 1Something happens to the carA total loss, a buyback, an odometer problem, missing ownership papers, or a car built for another market. A new car with none of these carries a clean title.
- 2A national code is recordedStates report brands to the federal title system under shared codes. The dictionary our reports use holds 68 of them.
- 3The state prints its own wordFlorida prints Salvage Rebuildable, Texas REBUILT SALVAGE, Iowa REBUILT-IA. The same history reads differently in each state.
- 4The car crosses a state lineThe new state converts the brand into its own wording, or refuses the car. Texas will not title a gray market or export-only vehicle.
- 5A buyer checks the VINThe report lists the brand records by national code, which can say more than the word printed on the paper in front of you.
Clean or Branded: Where Every Title Starts
Every car title in the US starts from the same fork. Either nothing notable has been recorded against the car and the title is clean, or something has, and the title carries a brand: a permanent notation that tells the next buyer about the car's past.
Brands are not one list. States report them to the federal title system under shared national codes, and the dictionary our reports use holds 68 of them, covering everything from flood and fire damage to former police cars and replicas. But the title in your hand shows only the word the issuing state chose, and states choose very differently.
That gap is where buyers get caught. A title can read clean in one state for a history another state would brand, and the same brand can read as three different words in three states. The types below are the families those words belong to.
Clean does not mean undamaged
Carfax's own salvage guide says it: because each state sets its own rules, a car an insurance company totaled may carry no indication of it on the title. A clean title is the absence of a recorded brand, not a clean history.
The 12 Types of Car Title
Each family with what it means, whether the car can go on the road, and an example of how states word it. Follow a card through to the page that covers that type in full.
Clean
No brand has been recorded. It is not proof the car was never damaged: Carfax notes a car an insurer totaled may carry no sign of it on the title.
Salvage
Written off as a total loss. Thirty states set the trigger as a share of the car's value, sixteen leave it to the insurer. Florida prints Salvage Rebuildable.
Rebuilt or reconstructed
A salvage car that was repaired and inspected. Texas prints REBUILT SALVAGE in six variants; New Jersey never prints rebuilt, so the title still says salvage.
Junk or nonrepairable
For parts or scrap. We verified the document in 35 states under six names, from junking certificate to certificate of destruction. Virginia says such a car is no longer a vehicle.
Flood and other damage
National codes cover flood, salt water, fire, hail and vandalism. Illinois' Flood brand can attach to a car that was never salvage.
Lemon or manufacturer buyback
The maker bought the car back. Texas prints Manufacturer Buyback for both the warranty-return and buyback codes; California's statute sets the words Lemon Law Buyback.
Odometer brands
Not actual mileage, exceeds mechanical limits and exempt. Texas prints five different national codes as the one brand Not Actual Mileage.
Bonded
Issued when an owner cannot produce normal ownership papers, backed by a surety bond. Louisiana will not accept another state's bonded title for any title.
Prior taxi, police or rental use
California brands cars formerly used as taxicabs or in law enforcement. Florida requires disclosure of taxi, police and short-term-lease use before sale.
Gray market or export only
Built for another market, or marked for export. California brands a car not intended for sale in the US, New York prints Non-USA-STD, and Texas will not title either.
Replica, kit car or street rod
Texas keeps Replica as its own brand. Florida's disclosure rule also covers kit cars, glider kits, custom vehicles and street rods.
Reissued VIN
The national system has a code for a car whose VIN a state has replaced with one it assigned. Texas does not title these routinely: the paperwork goes to the TxDMV in a specially marked envelope.
See Every Title Type a VIN Has Carried
The paper shows one state's word for today. Enter the VIN for a free preview, then read every brand on record by national code in the full report.
Same Type, Different Words: Six States
From our reviews of state salvage and odometer law, each read from the state's own statute or DMV. A buyer who only looks for the word “salvage” will miss several of these.
Never the bare word Salvage. Wrecked cars read Rebuildable or Rebuildable Flood; an unrecovered theft payout reads Salvage Theft.
New Jersey never prints rebuilt. A car that was totaled, repaired and inspected still carries a title that says salvage.
One of six rebuilt variants. Which one a car gets depends on the paperwork surrendered, not on how badly it was hurt.
What an owner-retained total loss outside the salvage system reads. A buyer scanning for salvage or rebuilt will miss it.
One of only three formal brands in New York's DMV branding section, alongside Rebuilt Salvage/NY and Reconstructed.
The one branding category of seven whose exact words California's statute prescribes.
What Happens to a Title Type Across State Lines
When a car is retitled in a new state, the new state reads the incoming brand and prints its own version. Texas publishes the conversion: a national Warranty Return or Manufacturer Buy Back becomes a Texas Manufacturer Buyback; a Prior Non-Repairable car that was repaired becomes Rebuilt Salvage; five different odometer codes become Not Actual Mileage.
Some types do not convert at all. Texas will not title a car carrying the national Gray Market or Export Only code, and Louisiana will not accept another state's bonded title or certificate of destruction for any title. Michigan goes the other way and issues its own branded title for a car arriving on another state's.
Conversion is also where detail gets lost. In Iowa a REBUILT-IA designation replaces the others, so a car that was flooded, written off and rebuilt shows only REBUILT-IA, and the flood is gone from the face of the paper. The national record behind the title keeps what the paper drops.
Iowa ranks its brands
Iowa puts its designations in order. REBUILT-IA replaces any other; flood, fire, vandalism and theft apply only unless a rebuilt or damage designation supersedes them; lemon buyback sits at the bottom. One title, one word.
Which Title Types to Walk Away From
Sorted by what the type means for registering the car, not by how bad it sounds. The middle column is where the report and an inspection earn their keep.
Cannot go on the road
- Junk, nonrepairable, parts only
- Certificate of destruction
- Gray market or export only, in Texas
- Salvage, until it is rebuilt and inspected
Can be registered, with questions
- Rebuilt or reconstructed
- Flood or other damage, once repaired
- Lemon or manufacturer buyback
- Odometer brands
Paperwork, not damage
- Bonded title
- Reissued, state-assigned VIN
- Prior taxi, police or rental use
- Replica, kit car or street rod
What the Full Report Shows About a Title
The title gives you today's word from one state. The report gives you the records behind it.
Title status and brand records
The current status, plus every brand record listed by national name and code, from salvage and flood to buyback and odometer brands.
Junk and salvage yard records
Cars reported by junk and salvage yards to the federal system, with who reported them, when, and what happened to the car.
Insurance total-loss records
The record that can exist even where a state never branded the title, which is how a clean title and a totaled past meet.
Ownership and odometer history
Ownership records with the state for each, and every reported odometer reading with its date and source.
The full report is $14.99, or $9.00 each in a 10-pack.
How to Check a Car's Title Type Before You Buy
Record, paper, state, and one document to refuse outright.
Run the VIN first
The free preview shows which records exist. The full report lists every brand by national code, so you know the type before you read the paper.
Read the whole title
Brands print in different places. On a New York title the odometer legend sits away from the brand box; in California odometer status is a single letter.
Check which state issued it
The same history prints differently in each state, and a car titled in several states may have been converted along the way.
Refuse a memorandum copy
Texas treats a memorandum copy as a document not acceptable to transfer the vehicle. A seller offering one instead of a title is not handing you a title.
Every Title Type, in Depth
This page maps the whole system. These pages each cover one type in full.
Where These Facts Come From
The national codes and their Texas conversions come from the Texas DMV. Each state's wording comes from that state's own statute or DMV, read for our 50-state reviews of salvage and odometer law.
State title rules change; each of our state pages carries the statute it was read from. This page explains title types and is not legal advice.
Always check the VIN before you buy
The free preview shows title brands, theft status and open recalls in seconds, and flags whether accident and odometer records exist. The full history is $14.99 — one-time, no subscription.
Types of Car Titles — Frequently Asked Questions
What each title type means, how states word it, and how to tell which one a car carries.
What are the different types of car titles?+
A title is clean when no brand has been recorded, and branded otherwise. The branded types fall into about a dozen families: salvage, rebuilt or reconstructed, junk or nonrepairable, flood and other damage, lemon or manufacturer buyback, odometer brands, bonded, prior taxi or police use, gray market or export only, replica or kit car, and reissued VIN. The national brand dictionary our reports read holds 68 codes, and each state prints its own word for them.
What does title status mean on a car?+
Title status is the title's current condition: clean, or carrying one or more brands. The word you see depends on the issuing state. Florida prints Salvage Rebuildable where most states print salvage, Texas prints REBUILT SALVAGE, Iowa prints REBUILT-IA, and New Jersey never prints rebuilt at all, so a repaired car's title there still says salvage.
What is the difference between a clean title and a branded title?+
A branded title carries a permanent notation, such as salvage, rebuilt, flood or lemon buyback. A clean title carries none. Clean does not prove the car was never damaged: Carfax notes that a car an insurer declared a total loss can carry no indication of it on the title, because each state sets its own branding rules.
Which types of car titles can be registered?+
Junk, nonrepairable and certificate-of-destruction titles are for parts in most states, and Texas will not title a gray market or export-only vehicle. A salvage car cannot be registered and driven until it is repaired, inspected and retitled. Rebuilt, flood-repaired, buyback, odometer-branded, bonded and prior-use titles can generally be registered, with the questions each brand raises.
Can a title brand disappear?+
It should not, but the paper can change. In Iowa a REBUILT-IA designation replaces other designations, so a car that was flooded, written off and rebuilt shows REBUILT-IA and no longer shows the flood on the face of the title. A car moving between states is also converted into the new state's wording. The national brand record behind the title is what keeps the full history.
What is a gray market title?+
It marks a car built for another market rather than for sale in the US. California brands a car manufactured outside the United States and not intended by the manufacturer for sale here, New York prints Non-USA-STD, and Texas will not title a gray market vehicle at all.
How do I find out what type of title a car has?+
Run the VIN. The full report, $14.99, lists the current title status and every brand record by national code, plus junk and salvage yard records and insurance total losses. Then read the physical title and check which state issued it, because the same brand prints in different words in different states.
Find Out Which Title Type a Car Has
Enter any 17-character VIN for a free preview of the records on file. The full report lists the title status and every brand on record, by national code.
CarCheckerVIN is an independent vehicle-history service and is not affiliated with any state titling agency or the US Department of Justice. Title records in our reports reflect what was reported to our data providers. No history service, ours included, can show a brand that was never reported.
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