How to fill out Nevada VP 213, the Application for Salvage Title or Non-Repairable Certificate

Turns a wrecked car's ordinary title into a salvage title, or into a non-repairable certificate if it is going to be crushed or parted out. Most people meet this because an insurer totalled their car and they kept it — and until the paper matches the vehicle, nobody can legally buy it from you.

Written against VP 213 (05/2024), issued under NRS 487.480. May 2024 revision. There are two applicant blocks and you use one of them. The top half is for an insurance company, a licensed Nevada business, a wrecker or a recycler; a private owner keeping their own totalled car fills in the individual block underneath and leaves the business block empty.

Two documents, and they are not the same thing. Take the blank VP 213 from the dmv.nv.gov copy so you get the revision that is current today, then print our VP 213 guide and keep it beside you while you fill theirs in.

Every line, in the order you meet it

1. 1
   Dealers only

   Business applicant block

   Business name, Nevada DMV business licence number or FEIN, addresses and contact details.

   Watch out: An insurance company, licensed Nevada business, wrecker or recycler fills this in. A private owner leaves every line of it empty.

2. 2
   You fill this in

   Your full legal name

   The individual block: your name as it appears on your identification.

   Watch out: It has to match the name endorsed on the title you are attaching. If the title is in a maiden name, that mismatch gets cleared with VP 185 before this is filed.

3. 3
   You fill this in

   Your addresses

   Physical Nevada address, then mailing address if it differs.

   Watch out: The form asks specifically for a physical Nevada address. A PO box belongs on the mailing line.

4. 4
   You fill this in

   Telephone and email

   Split across three boxes for the number, then the email line.

   Watch out: Salvage applications generate questions more often than ordinary transfers. A number the DMV can reach saves a fortnight.

5. 5
   You fill this in

   Signature and date

   The applicant signs and dates.

   Watch out: Sign as the individual applicant, on the individual line. There is a separate date box beside the business signature that is not yours.

6. 6
   You fill this in

   Vehicle Identification Number

   One character per box.

   Watch out: Take it off the title you are surrendering, and check it against the car. A wrecked vehicle is exactly where a transposed VIN goes unnoticed until it is too late.

7. 7
   You fill this in

   Year, make and model

   The vehicle description.

   Watch out: Copy it from the title rather than from the insurer's total-loss letter. Insurers abbreviate; the DMV matches against its own record.

8. 8
   You fill this in

   What you are applying for

   Total loss, flood damaged, non-repairable, or duplicate.

   Watch out: Read the difference before you tick. Non-repairable means the vehicle will never be registered again, and that is a one-way door.

What gets this one rejected

• •Filling in both applicant blocks. One applicant, one block — a private owner completes the individual half only.
• •Sending it without the title. The form is explicit: the original, properly endorsed Certificate of Title and any other required documents must be attached for the vehicle listed.
• •Ticking non-repairable when you mean salvage. A non-repairable certificate is for a vehicle that will never go back on the road; it cannot be reversed into a salvage title later because you changed your mind.
• •Applying on a vehicle already titled non-repairable in another state. The category travels with the vehicle.
• •Assuming a salvage title kills the sale. It does not — it changes who buys it and at what price, which is a different problem from an unsellable car.

Rules that decide whether it is accepted

• •The form is issued under NRS 487.480, which is Nevada's salvage title chapter rather than the ordinary titling chapter — a different part of the law from every other form on this site.
• •The form notes that no fee is required for a non-repairable vehicle certificate.
• •Flood damage has its own box. It is not the same as a total loss and it is worth ticking accurately, because a buyer who discovers it later has a real complaint.

Every line here was read off VP 213 (05/2024) itself — the PDF is here — and off the Nevada Department 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 Nevada seller paperwork, or what selling a car in Nevada involves.