Buyer Guide
What Is a Title Check?
A title check looks up a vehicle's official ownership record, its title, across federal and state databases to see whether it has ever been branded salvage, rebuilt, flood-damaged, or worse.
What a car title actually is
A title is a car's legal passport. Every state the car has lived in issues one, and every serious event in the car's life (a total-loss declaration, a flood, a lemon-law buyback) gets stamped onto it as a brand. Those brands follow the vehicle identification number (VIN) for life. A seller can clean, repaint, and detail a car; they can't detail the title record.
What a title check reveals
Every TitlePull report checks the title record for dozens of brand categories. The ones that matter most:
An insurance company declared the car a total loss. Not road-legal until rebuilt and re-inspected.
A salvage car that was repaired and passed a state inspection. Legal to drive, but the history follows the VIN forever and affects value, insurance, and financing.
The car was water-damaged. Corrosion and electrical problems often surface months later.
The manufacturer bought the car back because of defects it couldn't fix.
The car was sold for parts or scrap and isn't meant to return to the road.
Branded after serious fire or hail loss events.
Recorded mileage that goes down over time, the classic sign of tampering.
The car was stolen and later recovered, sometimes with hidden damage.
A title check also surfaces the title history itself, every state the car has been titled in and when. A car that's hopped through three states in a year is often trying to leave its record behind (that's called title washing, and because the federal record preserves every brand, a title check catches it even when a state paper title looks clean).
Title check vs. VIN check vs. vehicle history report
These terms overlap, and that confuses everyone:
- A VIN check is anything you look up using the car's 17-character VIN.
- A vehicle history report is the full document a VIN check produces, title records, odometer readings, theft records, recalls, valuation.
- A title check is the title-and-brands portion of that report, the highest-stakes part.
At TitlePull, all three are the same thing: one $9.99 report that includes the complete federal title history, every brand check above, odometer records, theft records, open safety recalls, market valuation, and a plain-English summary.
Read the full comparison: VIN Check vs. Title Check vs. Vehicle History Report
When you need one
- Any private sale (no dealer protections, verification is on you)
- A title issued recently in a different state than where the car has lived
- A price that's noticeably below market, that discount usually has a reason
- Before you put down a deposit or drive hours to see a car
How to run a title check (3 steps)
- Get the VIN, 17 characters, on the dashboard, driver's-door jamb, and the title itself.
- Enter it at TitlePull, no account, no subscription.
- Read your report in minutes, delivered by email with a plain-English summary of exactly what to ask the seller.
Learn more
- VIN Check vs. Title Check vs. Vehicle History Report, what's the difference?
- How TitlePull Works, data sources, guarantees, and refund policy
Frequently asked questions
Need a full vehicle history report?
TitlePull pulls full federal title history, comprehensive brand checks, salvage and theft records, and an AI summary, all for one flat fee.
Check a VIN: $9.99