MORE STATES ALLOW CONSUMERS TO ACCESS VEHICLE DATA IN NATIONAL AUTO FRAUD SYSTEM

WASHINGTON – The Office of Justice Programs (OJP) today announced the full participation of Pennsylvania and New York in the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System (NMVTIS). Beginning Friday, February 27, consumers are able to access condition and history information for vehicles titled in Pennsylvania. Information from the state of New York will be available to consumers on March 22, 2009. NMVTIS, which also allows state motor vehicle administrators to verify and exchange titling and brand data, will help law enforcement officials track stolen vehicles and is designed to protect consumers and states against automobile theft and fraud.

Currently, nearly 75 percent of the U.S. vehicle population is represented in NMVTIS and more than half of the states report data to the system.

On January 30, NMVTIS was made available to consumers for online searches of vehicle title information, brand history, and odometer data. Through NMVTIS, once a vehicle is titled or branded by a participating state motor vehicle titling agency or, after March 31, 2009 is determined by an insurance carrier to be ?salvage? or ?totaled,? that vehicle history information, and other important information, becomes a permanent part of the vehicle?s NMVTIS record. With full participation from all 50 states and the District of Columbia, NMVTIS will contain specific pieces of information from all motor vehicle titling agencies, automobile recyclers, junk and salvage yards, and insurance carriers in the United States. Ultimately, NMVTIS will protect the American public from title fraud and unsafe vehicles, keep stolen vehicles from being fraudulently re-titled, and will make it more difficult, if not impossible, to re-title or ?clone? stolen vehicles for criminal purposes. Additional information about NMVTIS can be found at www.nmvtis.gov.

The Office of Justice Programs, headed by Acting Assistant Attorney General Laurie Robinson, provides federal leadership in developing the nation's capacity to prevent and control crime, administer justice, and assist victims. OJP has five component bureaus: the Bureau of Justice Assistance; the Bureau of Justice Statistics; the National Institute of Justice; the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention; and the Office for Victims of Crime. Additionally, OJP has two program offices: the Community Capacity Development Office, which incorporates the Weed and Seed strategy, and the Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking (SMART). More information can be found at https://ojp.gov.

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