Wyoming Vehicle History — 75% Salvage Rule & Flood Brand (Reports from $4.99)

In Wyoming the county clerk, not a central DMV counter, issues salvage and rebuilt titles. The salvage rules skip vehicles with more than eight years of service — unless another state already branded them — so the age of the car changes what its title can tell you.

🇺🇸
US-WY
Wyoming

Official vehicle-registry authority: Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT) Motor Vehicle Services; titles issued by county clerks

Why Wyoming is different

Wyoming defines a salvage vehicle in W.S. 31-2-106 as one the insurer has declared a total loss or, where no insurer is involved, one whose parts and labor to rebuild exceed 75% of its actual retail cash value in a recognized appraisal guide. The owner or insurer sends the endorsed title to the county clerk that issued it, and the clerk issues a certificate of title branded "salvage" across the front.

The main gap is age. Under W.S. 31-2-107(d), the salvage-title section does not apply to motor vehicles with more than eight years of service. The exception is any vehicle already titled by any state with a word such as "salvage", "junk", "nonrepairable", "rebuilt" or a flood marking: that prior brand must be carried forward on every later Wyoming title regardless of age. An older car wrecked inside Wyoming, however, may never have been branded at all.

To return a salvage car to the road, the owner documents the pre-repair damage, names the repairer and affirms that no stolen parts were used, then receives a "rebuilt salvage vehicle" decal for the driver’s door jamb. A Wyoming law enforcement officer inspects the VIN and decal, and the clerk issues a title branded "rebuilt". Check the door jamb, the title wording and auction or insurer records before buying.

Title rules in Wyoming at a glance

Title agency
County clerk issues titles; WYDOT issues the rebuilt salvage decal
Salvage trigger
Insurer total loss, or repair cost over 75% of actual retail cash value when no insurer is involved (W.S. 31-2-106)
Title brands
Salvage, rebuilt, flood, junk; prior out-of-state brands carried forward
Rebuilt inspection
Wyoming law enforcement officer checks the VIN and the door-jamb decal (W.S. 31-2-108)
Older-vehicle exemption
Salvage-title section does not apply after eight years of service, unless the vehicle already carries a brand (W.S. 31-2-107(d))
Seller disclosure
Brand disclosed on a department form signed by the buyer; sale voidable within 30 days if missing (W.S. 31-2-109)
Flood vehicles
Written notice at sale; next title branded "flood" (W.S. 31-2-106, 31-2-107(k))

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Title brands in Wyoming

Salvage
Branded across the front of the title by the county clerk after an insurer total loss or, without an insurer, damage exceeding 75% of actual retail cash value (W.S. 31-2-106, 31-2-107).
Rebuilt
Issued after a branded-salvage vehicle receives the "rebuilt salvage vehicle" door-jamb decal and passes a VIN and decal inspection by a Wyoming law enforcement officer (W.S. 31-2-108).
Flood
For a vehicle whose water damage reached over the door sill into the passenger or trunk compartment but did not reach the salvage level. The seller must give written notice, and the next title is branded "flood".
Junk
A junk vehicle certificate of title issued under W.S. 31-2-111, conspicuously branded "junk" across the front.
Out-of-state brands carried forward
Any prior brand from another state — salvage, nonrepairable, rebuilt, reconstructed, flood and similar — must appear on the Wyoming title regardless of the vehicle’s age (W.S. 31-2-107(d)).

Red flags specific to Wyoming

⚠ Wrecked after eight years of service
W.S. 31-2-107(d) takes vehicles with more than eight years of service out of the salvage-title requirement unless they already carry a brand. A heavily damaged older truck can keep a plain Wyoming title, so insurer and auction records matter more.
⚠ Hail "salvage" that skipped the rebuilt process
Vehicles branded salvage only because of hail or theft with no damage other than cosmetic may be reregistered without the rebuilt-title process (W.S. 31-2-107(n), 31-2-108(c)). Confirm what the damage actually was.
⚠ Missing rebuilt-salvage decal
A Wyoming rebuilt car should have the secure "rebuilt salvage vehicle" decal on the driver’s door jamb (or the fork crown on a motorcycle). A missing or damaged decal on a car sold as rebuilt warrants a closer look at the title chain.
⚠ No signed brand-disclosure form
W.S. 31-2-109 requires the seller of a branded-title vehicle to disclose the brand on a department form the buyer signs. If the form was not obtained, the buyer may void the sale in writing within 30 days after the title is issued in the buyer’s name.

Frequently asked questions

A vehicle is a salvage vehicle when an insurer declares it a total loss or, if no insurer is involved, when the estimated or actual cost of parts and labor to restore it exceeds 75% of its actual retail cash value in a recognized appraisal guide (W.S. 31-2-106(a)(v)).

W.S. 31-2-107 does not apply to motor vehicles with more than eight years of service, except vehicles that already carry a salvage, junk, nonrepairable, rebuilt, flood or similar brand from any state — those brands are carried forward on every Wyoming title.

The county clerk. The owner or insurer sends the endorsed title to the clerk’s office that issued it with an application for a title branded salvage; rebuilt titles are also issued by the clerk after the law enforcement inspection.

The owner submits a department-approved document describing the pre-repair damage, a copy of the salvage title, the repairer’s name and address and an affirmation that no stolen parts were used. The department issues a decal for the driver’s door jamb, a Wyoming law enforcement officer inspects the VIN and decal, and the clerk issues a title branded "rebuilt".

Yes, if water rose over the door sill into the passenger or trunk compartment without enough damage for a salvage title. The seller must give the buyer written notice before transfer, and the next title is branded "flood".

W.S. 31-2-109 requires disclosure on a department form the buyer signs. Without that signature the sale is voidable by the buyer in writing within 30 days after the title is issued in the buyer’s name; knowingly failing to disclose a nonrepairable, rebuilt salvage or flood vehicle is a misdemeanor under W.S. 31-2-110.

Sources

Legal facts on this page were checked against these official sources in November 2026.

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