How to fill out North Carolina MVR-181

Five yes/no questions about the history of the car, signed by you and acknowledged by the buyer. Two of them are limited to vehicles five model years old and newer; the other three apply to every model year, however old the car is. Getting one of them wrong is not a paperwork problem — G.S. 20-71.4 makes a failure to disclose a Class 2 misdemeanor and adds civil liability on top.

Written against MVR-181 (Rev 04/2026), issued under N.C. General Statute 20-71.4. The three questions that apply to all model years — salvage, flood and reconstructed — do not expire. A car that was flooded twenty years ago still gets a Yes on question 3, and the fact that no title brand ever appeared does not change the answer.

Two documents, and they are not the same thing. Take the blank MVR-181 from the ncdot.gov copy so you get the revision that is current today, then print our MVR-181 guide and keep it beside you while you fill theirs in.

Every line, in the order you meet it

1. 1
   You fill this in

   The vehicle row

   Year, make, body style and VIN — four boxes across the top, above question 1.

   Watch out: The year in this box is what decides whether questions 1 and 4 apply to you, so it is worth writing before you read the questions.

2. 2
   You fill this in

   Question 1, collision damage

   Yes or No: damage exceeding 25% of value at the time of the occurrence, on a vehicle five model years old or newer.

   Watch out: It is not asking whether the car has ever been repaired. It is asking about one threshold on one occurrence, and if the answer is yes the parts that were damaged go on the two lines underneath.

3. 3
   You fill this in

   Question 2, salvage

   Yes or No, and if yes, the state in which it was titled. This one applies to every model year.

   Watch out: The definitions block at the foot of the form is where salvage is defined, and it is a percentage of fair retail market value rather than a judgement about how bad it looked.

4. 4
   You fill this in

   Question 3, flood

   Yes or No. All model years, no threshold, no exceptions.

   Watch out: The form's own definition is submerged or partially submerged to the extent that damage to the body, engine, transmission or differential has occurred. Water on the carpets after a window was left open is not that; water over the sills is.

5. 5
   You fill this in

   Question 5, reconstructed

   Yes or No: materially altered from original construction by the removal, addition or substitution of essential parts.

   Watch out: The definition includes glider kits and custom assembled vehicles. A replacement engine on its own is not a reconstruction; a body swapped onto another chassis is.

6. 6
   You fill this in

   Seller's signature, date and address

   One line each, directly under the declaration that the information is true to the best of your knowledge.

   Watch out: To the best of your knowledge is the standard, which is why a car you bought second-hand and know nothing about is still answered honestly rather than left blank.

7. 7
   The buyer fills this in

   Buyer's acknowledgement

   The last line on the form: the buyer signs to acknowledge what you have disclosed.

   Watch out: Keep a copy with the buyer's signature on it. It is the only record you will have that the disclosure was made before the vehicle changed hands, which is what the statute requires.

What gets this one rejected

• •An unanswered question. All five have a Yes and a No box and none of them is optional, even where the answer is obviously no.
• •A Yes on question 1 with the damaged parts left blank. The form asks for them on the line underneath.
• •A Yes on question 2 without naming the state in which the vehicle was titled.
• •Crossing out an answer and ticking the other box. Alterations or erasures void the form and the whole sheet has to be done again.
• •A missing buyer acknowledgement. The buyer's signature is what turns the disclosure into something they cannot later say they never saw.
• •Answering question 1 by eye. The threshold is 25% of the vehicle's value at the time of the occurrence, and the definitions block at the foot sets the salvage threshold separately at 75%.

Rules that decide whether it is accepted

• •Five model years is counted, not estimated. The definition on the form: the model year of manufacture counts as the first model year and the current calendar year as the final one. A 2022 sold in 2026 is inside the window; a 2021 is not.
• •Salvage has a number attached to it. The definitions block sets it at repairs exceeding 75% of fair retail market value, including parts and labour, whether or not an insurer has declared a total loss — or a vehicle on which an insurer paid a claim above that share of value.

Every line here was read off MVR-181 (Rev 04/2026) itself — the PDF is here — and off the North Carolina 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 North Carolina seller paperwork, or what selling a car in North Carolina involves.