The affidavit a rebuilder swears before a salvage inspection, and the document that turns a salvage certificate back into something registrable. It has two branches and they are very different: a vehicle that has been reconstructed to the condition it was in before the loss, and a vehicle that was stolen and recovered with no damage at all.
Written against DSMV 545A (Rev 10/2020), issued under RSA 261:22 and Saf-C 1922.01.
The three sworn statements are about the parts as well as the vehicle. Certifying that the identification numbers of the restored vehicle and its parts have not been removed, destroyed, falsified, altered or defaced means somebody has to know where the major components came from - which is why a rebuild that used a donor car without paperwork is a rebuild that cannot honestly sign this form.
Two documents, and they are not the same thing. Take the blank DSMV 545A from the dmv.nh.gov copy so you get the revision that is current today, then print our DSMV 545A guide and keep it beside you while you fill theirs in.
This is the actual DSMV 545A, rendered from the PDF the New Hampshire 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
The block at the foot is the inspector's and is shown greyed for that reason. Everything above it is sworn, including the certification about the identification numbers on the parts - which is a much wider statement than most people notice when they sign it.
Field by field
Every line, in the order you meet it
1
You fill this in
Owner or dealer information
Name, address, business name if there is one, and a phone number.
Watch out: The phone number is how the inspection location reaches you if the appointment moves. Give one that works.
2
You fill this in
The vehicle identification number
Written into the comb one character at a time.
Watch out: This is the number the inspector will read off the car. A transcription error here is the fastest way to a wasted appointment.
3
You fill this in
Year, make, model, colour
The description block.
Watch out: Colour as it is now, not as it was before the rebuild. The inspector is looking at the vehicle in front of them.
4
You fill this in
Salvage title number and state
Off the salvage certificate.
Watch out: Without it there is nothing connecting this affidavit to the salvage record, which is the point of the exercise.
5
You fill this in
Choose one of the two branches
Reconstructed to prior operating condition, or stolen and recovered with no damage.
Watch out: The second branch needs a letter from the insurance company stating no damage, and Saf-C 1922.13 requires it to be included. Get it before the appointment.
6
You fill this in
The three certifications and the signature
Signed under the penalties of perjury, with the day, month and year written out.
Watch out: Read the first of the three twice. It covers the parts, not just the vehicle.
7
Somebody else fills this in
Leave the inspection block alone
NHI and NHB numbers, pass or fail, date and location.
Watch out: That is the inspector's. What you control is arriving with everything else complete - an incomplete form means being turned away and rescheduling.
At a glance
What goes where
On the form
What to put in it
Owner or dealer information
Name, address, business name if applicable, and phone number.
Vehicle information
Vehicle identification number in a seventeen-cell comb, then year, make, model, colour, salvage title number and the state that issued it.
The two alternatives
One line for a vehicle reconstructed or restored to the operating condition which existed prior to the event which caused the salvage title to be issued, under RSA 261:22 and Saf-C 1922.01; one line for a total loss salvage vehicle that was stolen and recovered with no damage, which under Saf-C 1922.13 requires a letter from the insurance company stating no damage.
The three sworn statements
That the identification numbers of the restored or recovered vehicle and its parts have not been removed, destroyed, falsified, altered or defaced; that the salvage title document attached has not been forged, falsified, altered or counterfeited; and that all information on the application and its attachments is true and correct.
Signature block
Signed under the penalties of perjury, with the day, month and year written out.
Inspection block
NHI and NHB numbers, pass or fail, inspection date and location - completed at the inspection, not by the owner.
What gets this one rejected
•A form that is not complete. The warning printed at the foot is unambiguous: failure to complete this form in full will result in being turned away and you will have to reschedule your appointment.
•The stolen-and-recovered branch without the insurance company's letter stating no damage.
•A salvage title number left blank, which is the only thing tying the affidavit to the salvage record.
•Both branches ticked. They describe two different histories.
Rules that decide whether it is accepted
•An inspection is compulsory before registration. The Division's own answer is that every salvage vehicle must have a salvage inspection before it can be registered, and that once the vehicle is inspected a DSMV 547 will be issued.
•Where they are done. The Division publishes a list of salvage inspection locations as a separate document, and the list is short - these are not done at any inspection station.
•It is sworn twice over. Once under the penalties of perjury in the body, and again under the penalty of unsworn falsification pursuant to RSA 641:3 and RSA 262:1 in the line beneath.
Every line here was read off DSMV 545A (Rev 10/2020) itself — the PDF is here — and off the New Hampshire 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.
