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Virginia: total loss threshold and rebuilt title rules
What Virginia’s own pages print, word for word. Kind of rule, by our sorting: Formula with salvage value.
This is a reference to quoted official text, not legal, tax, insurance or professional advice. Rules change; confirm with the agency before acting.
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When is a vehicle salvage or a total loss in Virginia, in the state’s words?
“"Salvage vehicle" means (i) any late model vehicle that has been (a) acquired by an insurance company as a part of the claims process other than a stolen vehicle or (b) damaged as a result of collision, fire, flood, accident, trespass, or any other occurrence to such an extent that its estimated cost of repair, excluding charges for towing, storage, and temporary replacement/rental vehicle or payment for diminished value compensation, would exceed its actual cash value less its current salvage value;”
“"Current salvage value," as applied to a vehicle, means (i) the salvage value of the vehicle, as determined by the insurer responsible for paying the claim, or (ii) if no insurance company is responsible therefor, 25 percent of the actual cash value.”
“any recovered stolen vehicle acquired by an insurance company as a part of the claims process, whose estimated cost of repair exceeds 75 percent of its actual cash value;”
Citation as the page prints it: § 46.2-1600. Definitions
(Code of Virginia § 46.2-1600, read November 11, 2026)
The quoted rule brings salvage value into the sum: would exceed its actual cash value less its current salvage value
. The tool asks for that amount, and the statute’s own definition of it is quoted second.
The statute and the Department of Motor Vehicles page describe the examination’s purpose differently. Both are quoted.
Compare your figures with Virginia’s quoted rule
The tool shows the sentence the state prints and does the arithmetic that sentence describes on the figures you type. Nothing is sent anywhere and nothing is saved.
How do you get a rebuilt title in Virginia, in the state’s words?
“Each salvage vehicle that has been rebuilt for use on the highways shall be submitted for a state safety inspection”
“Upon passage of a state safety inspection, each rebuilt vehicle shall be examined by the Department prior to the issuance of a title for the vehicle.”
“This inspection shall serve as an antitheft and antifraud measure and shall not certify the safety or roadworthiness of the vehicle.”
“If you want to title a rebuilt salvage vehicle, it must first pass a DMV examination to ensure the vehicle and its parts are in safe operating condition and have not been stolen.”
What fee does Virginia print?
“The Commissioner may charge a fee of $125 per vehicle, for the examination of rebuilt vehicles.”
“$125 examination fee”
“$15 substitute title fee”
Read each fee sentence for what it covers: an inspection, a title, or something else.
Which form does Virginia name?
“Request for Examination of Rebuilt Salvage Vehicle (LES 022A)”
What do the pages print about the title afterwards?
“shall be permanently branded to indicate that it is a rebuilt vehicle.”
Where are Virginia’s official pages?
- Code of Virginia § 46.2-1600
- Code of Virginia § 46.2-1605, Vehicles rebuilt for highway use; examinations; branding of titles
- Virginia DMV, Rebuilt Vehicle Examinations
Every quote above was matched word for word against its page on November 11, 2026. If one has changed, tell us.