Justice Department issues final VIN reporting rules

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) issued its final rules requiring scrap recyclers, junk yards, salvage yards and insurers to report salvage and junk vehicle identification numbers (VINs) to a national database. The rules can be found at www.isri.org/nmvtis.

By no later than March 31, 2009, and continuing on a monthly basis, any individual or entity engaged in the business of operating a junk yard or salvage yard, which by statutory definition includes scrap recyclers and shredders, within the United States shall provide, in a format yet to be determined, an inventory of all junk automobiles or salvage automobiles obtained in whole or in part during the prior month to the NMVTIS operator, which is currently the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA).

While the final rules outline the various responsibilities and reporting requirements for states, scrap recyclers, junk yards and salvage yards, and insurance carriers, the rules do not outline how exactly this information must be transmitted to NMVTIS.

ISRI noted in its comments to the DOJ last fall that, unlike junk and salvage yards that use parts locator inventory systems referenced by DOJ as a likely reporting conduit, scrap recyclers do not sell parts and have no such uniformly-designed system in place to report this data to NMVTIS. What is certain is that, if a vehicle has been previously reported, a scrap recycler will not have to report to NMVTIS.

ISRI will be communicating the industry’s concerns about the reporting mechanisms to the NMVTIS operator and working to ensure any system approved by the operator is compatible with current industry practices if at all possible.

Information on the NMVTIS system and approved reporting mechanisms is posted at www.nmvtis.gov.