How to Fill Out and File the NY MV-907A Salvage Certificate

The New York MV-907A salvage certificate is the DMV form you complete and file to establish ownership of a junk or salvage vehicle after it has been declared a total loss or heavily damaged. Fill it out with the vehicle’s identifying details and both parties’ information, then send the DMV copy, the original title, and any lien releases to the DMV Title Bureau within 15 business days of acquiring the vehicle.¹

What the MV-907A Is and Who Files It

The MV-907A replaces a standard title certificate once a vehicle qualifies as salvage. It functions as proof of ownership so the vehicle can be stored, sold, or eventually rebuilt and re-titled. It is a multi-copy form: the DMV copy goes to Albany, and separate transfer copies travel with the vehicle to document later sales.

Three groups file it. Insurance companies complete an MV-907A whenever they take ownership of a vehicle through a total loss settlement, and self-insured fleet operators receive blank forms from the commissioner at no charge to use when a fleet vehicle is severely damaged.¹ Licensed vehicle dismantlers file one for each junk or salvage vehicle they acquire. Private owners file one when they keep a totaled vehicle after an insurance payout, when a title is brought in from another state carrying a salvage brand, or when the previous owner marked the New York title as a “wreck” at sale.²

A vehicle qualifies as salvage in New York when damage from collision, fire, flood, vandalism, or theft reaches or exceeds 75% of its pre-damage retail value, provided the vehicle is eight model years old or newer.³ Older vehicles with heavy damage don’t trigger mandatory branding, though the owner can voluntarily mark the title as a wreck.

When the 15-Day Clock Starts

Vehicle and Traffic Law Section 429 gives you 15 business days from the date of acquisition to deliver the statement of acquisition, the original title, and any lien release documents to the DMV commissioner.⁴ For a private owner who kept a totaled vehicle, acquisition is the point at which you and the insurer complete the settlement and the vehicle’s status changes on your side of the transaction. For a dismantler, it’s the date of purchase at auction or from the previous owner.

Information You Need on the Form

The MV-907A is short, but accuracy matters. A wrong digit in a VIN or a mismatched signature will bounce the filing back and eat into your 15-day window. Have the following ready before you start:

The full 17-character Vehicle Identification Number from the dashboard or door jamb.
The odometer reading at the time salvage status is established.
A description of the damage: collision, fire, flood, or other cause, and the extent.
Full legal names and addresses for both the transferor (the person giving up the vehicle) and the transferee (the person receiving it).
Matching signatures from both parties.

Insurance carriers usually generate the form through their internal systems and file electronically or in bulk. Individual owners can download a blank form from the DMV website or pick one up at a local DMV office.

Where to Send the DMV Copy

Send the completed DMV copy of the MV-907A to the DMV Title Bureau along with the surrendered original title certificate and any lien release documents. Keep the transfer copies with your records; they are what you use later if you sell the vehicle.¹

Transferring the Vehicle After Filing

Once the DMV copy is on file, you transfer the salvage vehicle to a buyer by delivering the properly completed transfer copy of the MV-907A. That transfer copy becomes the buyer’s proof of ownership.¹

This is where sellers most often go wrong. If your own proof of ownership is a transfer copy you received from a prior seller, rather than the original DMV-filed form, you cannot simply hand that same paper to your buyer. You must complete a new MV-907A of your own, then attach your new transfer copy on top of the older ones. All transfer copies stay together in chronological order, oldest on the bottom, and the entire stack goes to the purchaser.¹ Salvage pools, the auction facilities that sell totaled vehicles in bulk, can only transfer vehicles by a properly completed MV-907A.

Disclosure When You Sell

Selling a vehicle that is eight model years old or newer and that took damage of 75% or more of its retail value carries a disclosure duty on top of the MV-907A paperwork. You must mark the damage disclosure box on the back of the title certificate. Failure to disclose can bring a fine of up to $2,000, plus additional penalties under New York Penal Law.³ The salvage brand on the title record is permanent, so concealment tends to surface eventually, but the affirmative disclosure obligation is on you as the seller regardless of what the record shows.

What the MV-907A Doesn’t Do

Holding an MV-907A does not let you drive the vehicle on public roads. The certificate is proof of ownership only. To put a rebuilt vehicle back on the road, you file a separate application (Form MV-83SAL) for a salvage vehicle examination through the DMV’s Auto Theft Prevention Program. That process confirms the rebuild used no stolen parts and produces a “Rebuilt Salvage” title, which then supports a new registration.⁵ If a rebuilt title is your eventual goal, the MV-907A is step one; the examination is a distinct process with its own form, fee, and timeline.

1
Cornell Law Institute. New York Code 15 NYCRR 81.8 – Procedures Upon Acquisition or Transfer of Junk and Salvage Vehicles
2
New York State Department of Motor Vehicles. Salvage Vehicles
3
New York State Department of Motor Vehicles. Buying a Salvage Vehicle
4
New York State Senate. New York Vehicle and Traffic Law Section 429 – Junk and Salvage Vehicles
5
New York State Department of Motor Vehicles. The Salvage Vehicle Examination