Turns a wrecked vehicle's ordinary title into a salvage title, or into a nonrepairable title for one that will never legally return to the road. If you settled a total loss and kept the car, this is what has to be filed before it can be sold on.
Written against VTR-441 (Rev 01/25), issued under Texas Transportation Code 501.091 and 501.100. Salvage and nonrepairable are not two words for the same thing. A salvage title can become a rebuilt salvage title after repair and inspection; a nonrepairable title cannot.
Two documents, and they are not the same thing. Take the blank VTR-441 from the txdmv.gov copy so you get the revision that is current today.
| On the form | What to put in it |
|---|---|
| Application type | Salvage Vehicle Title or Nonrepairable Vehicle Title, $8.00 either way. A third box adds a certified copy of Texas title for another $2.00, but only where the vehicle was last titled in Texas, the title is lost or destroyed, and there is no change of ownership. |
| Vehicle information | VIN, year, make, body style, model, title or document number, the state that issued the surrendered title, and the plate state and number. |
| Odometer reading | No tenths, with the same three tick boxes the 130-U uses: Exempt, Not Actual, Exceeds Mechanical Limits. |
| Type of damage | Accident or collision, flood damage, or other with a written specification. Flood is a separate box because Texas treats flood history differently. |
| Applicant information | Name, address, and an optional email and phone. Room for a second applicant. |
| Lien information | Three tick boxes, and they are not interchangeable: No lien, Carry forward existing lien, or Record new lien - and that last one is marked on Salvage Vehicle Title Only. A new lien cannot be recorded against a nonrepairable certificate. |
| Last titled outside of Texas | Only where an insurance company is applying. It asks what connects the vehicle to Texas: the damage happened here, the theft happened here, the recovery happened here, or the owner it was acquired from is a Texas resident. |
| Certification and signatures | Applicant and any additional applicant sign and print, under the third-degree-felony line. |
Every line here was read off VTR-441 (Rev 01/25) itself — the PDF is here — and off the Texas 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 Texas seller paperwork, or what selling a car in Texas involves.