How to Fill Out and Submit the California Mileage Verification Form

California does not issue a single document called a “California mileage verification form.” The phrase covers two different things: the mileage verification request your auto insurer sends at renewal (each carrier uses its own form or app prompt), and the DMV forms used to correct an odometer reading on your vehicle records, primarily the REG 262, REG 256, and REG 31.¹ Which one you fill out depends on why you’re being asked to verify mileage in the first place.

Which Mileage Form You Actually Need

Start by identifying who is asking:

If your auto insurer sent a request at renewal, you’re completing that company’s mileage verification form or online prompt. There is no state version of this document.
If you need to correct an odometer reading on DMV paperwork before a title has been issued, you’ll submit a REG 262 and a REG 256.
If the DMV has already issued a title with the wrong mileage, you’ll submit the original title, a REG 31, and a REG 256.¹
If you’re selling or transferring a vehicle, the odometer disclosure goes on the title itself, or on a REG 262 when the title is unavailable or noncompliant.

Completing an Insurer’s Mileage Verification Request

Under California Insurance Code Section 1861.02, annual miles driven is one of three mandatory factors insurers must use to set your auto premium.² That is why carriers verify mileage at least every three years, usually at renewal. If you don’t respond and don’t provide any verification, the California Department of Insurance allows the carrier to estimate your annual mileage at 13,000 miles, which will almost always cost a low-mileage driver more than the actual number would.

The form varies by company, but the information requested is consistent. Expect to provide:

Your current odometer reading, entered exactly as it appears on the dashboard, including tenths if shown. Don’t round.
Whether you commute to work or school, the address, and the number of days per week.
Any work-related miles beyond your commute.
An estimate of miles you expect to drive over the next 12 months, with a brief explanation if it differs sharply from last year.

Most insurers now accept this through their mobile app or online portal and let you upload a photo of the odometer. Some still mail a paper form that you complete, sign, and return to the address on the document. Whichever route you use, take the odometer photo and record the reading on the same day you sign and submit, so the date and number line up.

Your insurer can also verify mileage independently by pulling odometer data from the Bureau of Automotive Repair’s smog check records or the DMV’s vehicle database, both of which capture readings during smog inspections and title transactions.³ They may request — but cannot require — service records with odometer readings, or ask you to install a telematics device. You can decline the optional requests; you can’t decline the underlying database check.

Correcting an Odometer Error Before a Title Is Issued

If the wrong mileage appears on a pending application, such as the Application for Registration of New Vehicle (REG 397), the Application for Title or Registration (REG 343), or a complying title that hasn’t been processed, submit two forms:¹

REG 262 (Vehicle/Vessel Transfer and Reassignment Form). This carries the corrected odometer disclosure. Both buyer and seller must sign in ink.⁴
REG 256 (Statement of Facts). A written explanation of why a separate odometer disclosure is attached and how the error happened.

Any error or alteration inside the odometer disclosure section of the original document voids that disclosure entirely, which is why the REG 262 replaces it rather than being written over the top.⁴ The REG 262 is a controlled form that the DMV distributes; it’s not a printable PDF you can download and use.

Correcting an Odometer Error After a Title Has Been Issued

If the California Certificate of Title has already been printed with the wrong mileage, the correction requires three items:¹

The original California Certificate of Title showing the incorrect mileage.
REG 31 (Verification of Vehicle). A physical inspection form completed by an authorized DMV employee, a licensed vehicle verifier, an authorized auto club employee, or a peace officer. The verifier physically reads and records the current odometer number and VIN from the vehicle itself.
REG 256 (Statement of Facts) explaining what on the title is wrong and how the error occurred.

The REG 31 isn’t a form you complete yourself. It requires an in-person inspection by an authorized verifier. You can get one done at a DMV field office or through a licensed vehicle verifier. Submit the completed packet — title, REG 31, and REG 256 — to the DMV.

Odometer Disclosure When You Sell or Transfer a Vehicle

Every California vehicle transfer requires the seller to disclose the odometer reading to the buyer in writing. That disclosure appears on the title itself, or on a REG 262 when the title is unavailable or noncompliant. California’s DMV requires odometer disclosure for automobiles, motorcycles, and commercial vehicles with an unladen weight of 8,500 pounds or less that are nine model years old or newer.⁵

Federal law goes further. Under a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration rule, model year 2011 and newer vehicles must carry odometer disclosure for the first 20 years of the vehicle’s life.⁶ A 2011 vehicle will not become exempt until 2031. If you’re transferring a 2011 or newer vehicle, disclose the mileage regardless of what older state-level exemption charts show.

The disclosure must state either the cumulative mileage on the odometer, or, if the seller knows the reading doesn’t reflect the actual distance traveled, that the true mileage is unknown. A false statement violates federal law, and California will not title the vehicle in the buyer’s name without the seller’s signed and dated mileage disclosure submitted alongside the title paperwork.⁷

Reading Your Odometer and Finding Your VIN

Every mileage form asks for the same two identifiers: your odometer reading and your vehicle identification number.

Turn the ignition to accessory or on (you don’t need to start the engine) and write down every digit displayed, including tenths of a mile. Don’t estimate, don’t round, and don’t convert if the display shows kilometers — record what you see.³ Note the date at the same moment. Insurers and the DMV both care about when the number was captured.

The 17-character VIN sits inside the passenger compartment, readable through the windshield from outside near the driver-side base of the windshield pillar.⁸ It also appears on a label on the driver-side door jamb, on your registration card, and on your insurance declarations page.

Why Accuracy Matters on Any Mileage Form

Deliberately understating mileage to lower a premium, or misrepresenting an odometer reading on a transfer, is not a minor paperwork issue. California Vehicle Code Section 28051 makes it illegal to disconnect, turn back, advance, or reset an odometer with intent to defraud, or to sell or install a device designed to alter a reading.⁹ Federal law adds civil liability for three times actual damages or $10,000, whichever is greater, plus attorney’s fees, in a private lawsuit by a defrauded buyer.¹⁰

Even honest mistakes cause trouble on the insurance side. If your carrier’s database check reveals a gap between the miles you reported and what smog or DMV records show, they can raise your premium, revoke a low-mileage discount, or treat the discrepancy as material misrepresentation affecting a future claim. Report the number on your odometer, on the day you’re filling out the form, and keep a photo for your records.

1
California Department of Motor Vehicles. Errors in Reporting Odometer Mileage
2
California Legislative Information. California Code, Insurance Code – INS 1861.02
3
Bureau of Automotive Repair. Smog Check Manual
4
California Department of Motor Vehicles. Vehicle/Vessel Transfer and Reassignment Form (REG 262)
5
California Department of Motor Vehicles. Chapter 5 Odometer Mileage Reporting
6
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Consumer Alert: Changes to Odometer Disclosure Requirements
7
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 49 U.S. Code 32705 – Disclosure Requirements on Transfer of Motor Vehicles
8
eCFR. 49 CFR 565.13 – Vehicle Identification Number Requirements
9
Justia Law. California Vehicle Code Article 10 – Odometers
10
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 49 USC 32710 – Civil Actions by Private Persons