Ontario salvage title rules: None, Salvage, Rebuilt and Irreparable brands

Ontario calls them brands. Under the Mandatory Vehicle Branding Program, a written-off vehicle whose damage meets the regulation's criteria is branded Salvage or Irreparable on its Ontario record, and the brand shows on its vehicle permit and in the Used Vehicle Information Package. Other write-offs stay None. People still search for a "salvage title", but here it's a brand, and it stays with the vehicle.

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

Ontario's four brands

Ontario uses four brands, set by regulation. Go by the word printed on the permit.

Which vehicles count as Salvage or Irreparable is set out in a regulation under the Highway Traffic Act, linked in the sources. An Irreparable vehicle isn't a repair project. It's a parts vehicle, and it can never be plated in Ontario. A flood or fire brand from another province or country also arrives as Irreparable. DNF treats every flood and fire write-off as parts only too, whatever its brand, under a rule of our own.

The UVIP, and buying privately

Unless the seller is a registered dealer, they must give you a Used Vehicle Information Package (UVIP) from ServiceOntario for most cars and light trucks. It shows the vehicle's Ontario registration history, its brand and any liens registered against it. Get it before you pay, and make sure the brand in it matches what the seller told you.

Then compare the VIN in the UVIP and on the permit with the plate on the dashboard at the windshield and the label on the driver's door frame. The seller signs the vehicle portion of the permit over to you, and you register the transfer with ServiceOntario within 6 days. A Salvage vehicle gets a permit marked unfit, with no plates, and it goes home on a tow truck or trailer.

To become Rebuilt, it's repaired and passes a structural inspection at a DriveON Vehicle Inspection Centre, and ServiceOntario changes the brand when you submit the certificate. It then needs a safety standards certificate before it can be plated. The Ontario rebuilt inspection guide has the steps.

A vehicle brought into Ontario keeps its history. A repairable or Rebuilt brand from elsewhere arrives as Salvage, so it needs an Ontario structural inspection certificate even if it was rebuilt before, and a non-repairable, flood or fire brand arrives as Irreparable.

Auctions, OMVIC and curbsiders

Salvage auctions set their own rules on who can bid, and some sell only to registered dealers. Buying salvage in Ontario without a dealer licence explains the alternatives.

You don't need OMVIC registration to buy a vehicle for yourself. Fixing and selling vehicles for profit is different: Ontario's exemption for personal vehicles doesn't cover one bought to resell, even once. Anyone in the business of selling vehicles must be registered with OMVIC, the province's dealer regulator, and unregistered sellers who pose as private sellers are known as curbsiders. Talk to OMVIC before you start.

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