How to fill out Delaware MV215

The form an insurer or an auction files when the owner never sent the title back. Delaware puts the restriction in the file name and repeats it on the affidavit: this form is only to be used by Insurers or Auctions applying for a Salvage Certificate to certify that a valid Certificate of Title for the vehicle acquired by the applicant is not available. A private owner keeping a written-off car does not file it - they go to a counter with the certificate, the insurer’s letter and the plate. It is on this list because it is the only thing a search for a Delaware salvage certificate turns up, and because the two certified letters it requires are letters that land on a seller’s doormat.

Written against MV215 (01/19), issued under 21 Del. C. s. 2512(g) and (h), reproduced in full on the form’s own last page. If a certified letter arrives asking you to send in a title for a car your insurer already paid you for, that is this form being prepared. Two of them, ignored, are enough for the Division to issue a salvage certificate in the insurer's name without your signature on anything - and the second half of that sentence is the part worth reading twice.

Two documents, and they are not the same thing. Take the blank MV215 from the dmv.de.gov copy so you get the revision that is current today, then print our MV215 guide and keep it beside you while you fill theirs in.

Step 1 · the form itself Blank MV215 — Application for Salvage Certificate Without Title PDF at dmv.de.gov · new tab Step 2 · how to fill it in Our filled-in MV215 guide PDF · print and keep beside you

Filled in

What a completed one looks like

This is all 3 pages of the actual MV215, rendered from the PDF the Delaware Division of Motor Vehicles publishes and completed end to end: letterhead, every field, and the blocks at the foot.

Amber — you write it
Grey — not yours to fill
Numbered — explained below

A Delaware MV215 Application for Salvage Certificate Without Title filled in as the insurer's document it is: applicant Chesapeake Coastal Mutual Insurance Company of Wilmington, a 2015 Honda CR-V, VIN 2HKRM4H5XFH614293, Steel Blue, an odometer reading of 96412 with the not-actual-mileage option ticked, the Insurance yes box ticked and the Auction no box ticked, the former owner given as Merrick A. Dunavant of 118 Chestnut Ridge Road, Milton, and the insurance-company certification signed by a claims representative with a position and a date. — Page 1 of 3. Page one, the application. Four boxes at the foot are marked Required and two of them ask the signer for a job title and an employer - which is the plainest statement on the page about whose form it is.

Field by field

Every line, in the order you meet it

1
The insurance agent fills this in
Name and address, page one
The applicant, with street, city, state and zip labelled underneath the box.
Watch out: On a total loss this is the insurer that paid the claim, not the person who used to drive the car.
2
The insurance agent fills this in
Odometer reading
The reading, in its own box, with the brand columns beside it marked Brand Entered By DMV.
Watch out: A wrecked car still needs a disclosure. The brand columns are not the applicant's to complete - the Division enters those.
3
The insurance agent fills this in
The two odometer reading options
1) the odometer reading is not the actual mileage. 2) mileage not being disclosed - and for that one the vehicle must be over 10 years old and a zero has to be entered as the reading.
Watch out: These are not the two boxes printed on the back of a certificate. Option 2 has an age condition attached to it that the certificate's boxes do not.
4
The insurance agent fills this in
Make, year, model, body style, axles
The description row.
Watch out: Axles is on this form because Delaware salvages trailers and commercial vehicles on the same page as cars.
5
The insurance agent fills this in
MGVWR, colour and the vehicle identification number
The second description row, with the VIN in the wide box on the right.
Watch out: The VIN is what the salvage certificate attaches to, and what the State Police Auto Theft Unit will check against the wreck if it is ever rebuilt.
6
The insurance agent fills this in
Lien, and the title number
A lien box with None printed beside it, and a title number box pre-printed with a U.
Watch out: The statute is what makes this box interesting: regardless of the existence of a lien, the Department issues the salvage certificate free and clear of all liens.
7
The insurance agent fills this in
Signature, printed name, official title, company
Four boxes at the foot of page one, all marked Required.
Watch out: Two of them ask what your job is and who you work for. A private owner has neither to write.
8
The insurance agent fills this in
Applicant information, page two
The affidavit's own header block: applicant's name - the label says name of insurance company or auction - address, telephone, email and authorised representative.
Watch out: Read the line above it before anything else: do not use this form if you have the vehicle's Certificate of Title.
9
The insurance agent fills this in
Is applicant an insurance company? Is applicant an auction?
Two check-one pairs.
Watch out: This is the restriction, printed as a question. There is no box for an individual owner.
10
The insurance agent fills this in
Vehicle information and the former owner
Year, make, model, colour, VIN, then the name and registered address of the former owner over two lines.
Watch out: This is where a private owner appears on the form: as a name, written by somebody else, on the document that removes their title.
11
The insurance agent fills this in
The certification, and the two letters behind it
Paragraph 1 for an insurer, paragraph 2 for an auction, each signed with a printed name, a position and a date.
Watch out: Both certifications turn on the same evidence: legible copies of two written attempts, sent by certified mail or courier, to reach the former owner and any known lienholder.
12
Somebody else fills this in
DMV Use Only
Approved by, and a date, at the foot of the affidavit.
Watch out: Untouchable, like every DMV-use strip in the Delaware set.

At a glance

What goes where

On the form	What to put in it
Name and Address, page one	The applicant, with the address split into street, city, state and zip columns under the box. Print or type everything except the signature - the instruction is at the top of the page.
Odometer Reading, Odometer Brand and Title Brand	The reading in its own box. The brand columns beside it are marked Brand Entered By DMV, and the title brand box is pre-printed with the letter the Division uses for a salvage record.
Odometer Reading Options	Two, and they are not the two on the back of a certificate. Option 1: the odometer reading is not the actual mileage - WARNING ODOMETER DISCREPANCY. Option 2: mileage not being disclosed, for which the vehicle must be over 10 years old and a zero must be entered as the reading.
Description of vehicle	Make, year, model, body style, number of axles, then MGVWR, colour and the vehicle identification number.
Lien and Title Number	A lien box with the word None printed beside it, and a title number box pre-printed with the U the Division uses for a record with no surrendered certificate behind it.
Signature of Applicant, Printed Name, Official Title, Printed Name of Company	Four boxes, all four marked Required. Two of them ask the signer for a job and an employer - which is the plainest statement on the page about who this form expects.
The affidavit, page two	A separate document with its own heading: Affidavit in Lieu of Certificate of Title for Salvage Vehicle, and under it, in brackets, do not use this form if you have the vehicle's Certificate of Title.
Applicant information	Applicant's name - the label says name of insurance company or auction - then address, telephone, email and authorised representative.
Is Applicant an insurance company? Is Applicant an auction?	Two yes/no pairs, check one each. There is no third category, and the certification you sign afterwards depends on which one you ticked.
Vehicle information and former owner	Year, make, model, colour and VIN, then the name and registered address of the former owner of the vehicle over two lines.
Certification 1, Insurance Company Applicant Only	Four sworn statements: that documentary evidence shows the company paid a total-loss claim to the former owner; that it has satisfied any existing lienholder; that it has not been able to obtain the certificate of title from the former owner; and that it has provided legible copies of two written attempts, sent by certified mail or courier, to contact the former owner at their last known address.
Certification 2, Auction Only	Five statements instead: that the auction took possession at the request of an insurance company; that the vehicle is the subject of an insurance claim; that there is no total loss insurance settlement transferring ownership to the insurer; that the vehicle has been abandoned at the auction's facility for more than 30 days; and that two written attempts were sent to have it removed.
Two signature rows	Signature of Authorized Agent of the Applicant, printed name, position and date - once under each certification. Position, again.
DMV Use Only: Approved by, Date	The Division's strip at the foot of the affidavit.
Page three	Not a form at all. 21 Del. C. s. 2512(g) and (h) reproduced in full, which is the law the whole filing runs on.

What gets this one rejected

•A private owner filing it. The affidavit's purpose line names the two categories that may use it and neither is a person.
•Filing it while holding the certificate. Printed under the affidavit's heading: do not use this form if you have the vehicle's Certificate of Title.
•Neither the insurance box nor the auction box ticked. Each is a check-one pair, and the certification the applicant signs below depends on the answer.
•Signing the wrong certification. Paragraph 1 is headed Insurance Company Applicant Only and paragraph 2 Auction Only. They swear to different facts.
•No proof of the two letters. Attach copies of two written attempts sent by certified mail or courier to contact the vehicle's former owner and any known lienholder - and the statute behind it wants a courier whose regular business is delivery service and that provides proof of delivery.
•A blank official title or printed name of company on page one. Both are marked Required.
•An incomplete filing generally. The affidavit says so in one sentence: the Division of Motor Vehicles may refuse to accept an incomplete filing.

Rules that decide whether it is accepted

•What the statute lets an insurer do. 21 Del. C. s. 2512(g)(1): an insurance company that does not receive, within 30 days from the date of the total loss insurance settlement, the properly endorsed certificate of title may apply for a salvage certificate in its own name without surrendering the certificate. Regardless of the existence of a lien, the Department shall then issue the certificate free and clear of all liens, on evidence of payment of the claim and an affidavit about the two written requests.
•What it lets an auction do. 21 Del. C. s. 2512(h)(1): a licensed auto auction may apply where it took possession at an insurer's request, the vehicle is the subject of an insurance claim, there is no total loss settlement transferring ownership to the insurer, and the vehicle has been abandoned at its facility for more than 30 days.
•Why a seller should care. The two certified letters are addressed to the vehicle owner of record and any known lienholder. If you have had a car written off and one of these arrives, it is an insurer telling you it is about to take the title out of your name without your signature - and answering it is cheaper than ignoring it.
•What an owner keeping the wreck actually does. The Division's Procedures for Owner Retained Salvage Vehicles is a three-step process and none of the steps is this form. The owner makes an odometer disclosure on the back of the Delaware title in Section 1, then signs and prints their own name under Signature of Buyer and Printed Name of Buyer in the same section - buying the wreck back from themselves. They present the certificate, a letter from the insurer on its letterhead stating the vehicle is a total loss insurance settlement owner-retained salvage, and the Delaware licence plate.
•What the insurer's letter has to carry. The signature of an insurance company representative, the name of the owner, the date of loss, and the model year, VIN, make and model of the vehicle. Four things, named by the Division.
•Then it stops being paperwork. The vehicle cannot be driven until it has been reconstructed, presented to the Delaware State Police Auto Theft Unit for inspection, passed Delaware safety inspection and been retitled. Photographs before any repairs, receipts for every part with the seller's and buyer's full addresses, and VINs on receipts for used parts - and the Auto Theft Unit will no longer approve salvage vehicles repaired by a previous salvage owner. The Application for Title the inspectors hand over at the end, MV214, is not published anywhere: it comes from them.

Every line here was read off MV215 (01/19) itself — the PDF is here — and off the Delaware Division of Motor Vehicles pages. This is plain-language help with a form, not legal advice, and where our wording and the agency's differ, theirs governs.

Back to all Delaware seller paperwork, or what selling a car in Delaware involves.

How to fill out Delaware MV215

What a completed one looks like

Every line, in the order you meet it

Name and address, page one

Odometer reading

The two odometer reading options

Make, year, model, body style, axles

MGVWR, colour and the vehicle identification number

Lien, and the title number

Signature, printed name, official title, company

Applicant information, page two

Is applicant an insurance company? Is applicant an auction?

Vehicle information and the former owner

The certification, and the two letters behind it

DMV Use Only

What goes where

What gets this one rejected

Rules that decide whether it is accepted

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