New Brunswick salvage title rules: Salvage, Rebuilt and Non-Repairable

What US searches call a "salvage title" is, in New Brunswick, a status shown on the vehicle's certificate of registration. The Motor Vehicle Act sets the statuses, the Registrar of Motor Vehicles records them, and Service New Brunswick handles vehicle registrations.

These notes sum up Service New Brunswick's published rules as of October 2026. They aren't legal advice, so check with Service New Brunswick before you buy, repair or register a vehicle.

New Brunswick's three statuses

No one may drive a vehicle registered as Salvage or Non-Repairable on a highway, and the owner may not let anyone else drive it.

A vehicle with none of these statuses can still have been damaged. The certificate of registration only shows what was reported.

Who reports a write-off

The owner of a Salvage vehicle has 30 days from the damage to notify the Registrar, say whether they consider it non-repairable and get a new certificate of registration showing Salvage or Non-Repairable. That includes an owner who keeps the vehicle. The duty passes to the insurer if the owner transfers the vehicle to one within those 30 days: an insurer that takes ownership of a Salvage vehicle has 14 days to do the same.

When a written-off vehicle is transferred to an insurer, Service New Brunswick asks for a branding document, either the Disposition of Salvage report or an Application for Vehicle Status Change, and it has to be the original, not a copy.

Buying a Salvage vehicle

Read the status on the certificate of registration, and compare the VIN on it with the VIN plate you can read through the windshield and the label on the driver's door frame. To register a used vehicle, Service New Brunswick asks for the current registration, an acceptable bill of sale and proof of valid insurance. The registered owner signs both pages of the certificate of registration, and the buyer's name and address go on the transfer. A vehicle can't be driven until the registration is recorded in the buyer's name, and a Salvage vehicle can't be driven at all until it's Rebuilt, so plan to tow or trailer it.

Search for liens before you pay. New Brunswick's personal property registry is one of the seven that Atlantic Canada On-Line serves. Search the registry where the seller lives as well as where the vehicle is registered, because a lien can stay with a vehicle after it's sold.

Before you buy one to repair, ask Service New Brunswick what it'll need. The New Brunswick rebuilt inspection guide covers the rebuilding record, the certificate of inspection and the application.

Non-Repairable vehicles, and our flood rule

A Non-Repairable vehicle can only change hands as a source of parts or as scrap, and it can never be registered under any other status. Service New Brunswick's guide for dealers, auctions and insurers adds that once a vehicle has been marked non-repairable, it "can no longer be transferred or exchanged from another jurisdiction".

DNF lists every vehicle with flood or fire damage for parts only, whatever brand the registration shows, because water and fire do damage that photos can't show. That's our rule, not the province's.

Buying to resell or part out

You don't need a dealer licence to buy a vehicle for yourself or to make an offer on DNF. Businesses are another matter. The Registrar issues motor vehicle dealer licences, including a wrecker dealer licence for businesses that dismantle vehicles to sell the parts, and a wrecker dealer can't sell vehicles to the public. Salvage yards need a separate salvage dealer licence from the Department of Justice and Public Safety under the Salvage Dealers Licensing Act. Ask before you start buying vehicles to fix and sell.

See salvage vehicles for sale in New Brunswick, rebuilt vehicles in New Brunswick or everything listed in New Brunswick.