Quebec rebuilt inspection: from Gravement accidenté (VGA) to Reconstruit

In Quebec, a vehicle with the status Gravement accidenté (VGA) can go back on the road only after it's rebuilt, passes a technical appraisal and then passes a mechanical inspection. The SAAQ then records it as Reconstruit, and it can be registered again.

The SAAQ describes the sequence in its severely damaged and rebuilt vehicle guidance: technical appraisal, mechanical inspection and the registration steps.

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

Check the status first

Only a VGA vehicle goes through this process. An Irrécupérable vehicle can never return to the road in Quebec, whatever is fixed, and that includes every flood write-off. A flood-damaged vehicle from another province can't be brought into Quebec to be rebuilt either. DNF also lists every vehicle with flood or fire damage for parts only, whatever its brand. That's our rule, not the province's.

Before you start

Read the manufacturer's repair instructions before you buy parts, or before you buy the vehicle. The SAAQ requires structural repairs by the manufacturer's methods, and repairs that don't follow them are refused, which leaves the vehicle VGA. Where the manufacturer releases its instructions only to shops it approves, the structural work has to be done at one of them and you'll need the shop's invoice. Where no instructions exist, damaged structural parts are replaced whole and assembled exactly as the factory built them.

From VGA to Reconstruit

1. Start a rebuilding record on day one. It holds the names and addresses of the owner, the insurer that covered the vehicle before the current owner bought it (with the claim number) and the rebuilder; the vehicle's details; a list of the major components and safety equipment you use, with the supplier, the purchase date and, for used parts, the VIN of the vehicle they came from; their invoices; the invoice for the damaged vehicle and its VIN; the damage estimate; and, where the rebuild needed structural repairs, the repair instructions you followed.
2. Photograph the vehicle in colour before you touch it, showing the front, the rear and both sides. Take a colour photo while it's on the frame alignment bench, and photos of each assembly point at each main stage of the work if those points won't be visible at the appraisal. Each photo needs a handwritten sign with the date and the last eight characters of the VIN.
3. Replace the safety equipment as the manufacturer specifies, including the airbags and the seat belts with pretensioners. Replace the airbag control module with a new one, or have the original reprogrammed by the dealer (where the manufacturer allows it) or by a business the SAAQ recognizes. Recycled driver, passenger and seat airbags can be used if they come from the SAAQ's approved recycling program, and other airbags have to be new. Note their serial numbers or donor VINs on the form, and keep the invoices.
4. Add a wheel alignment report within the manufacturer's tolerances, dated and signed by the mechanic. If the vehicle has driver-assistance systems that the damage or the repairs may have affected, add the diagnostic report showing they were recalibrated and the recalibration invoice. If a recalibration needs a drive on the road, a service outlet can issue a temporary registration certificate for 12 hours.
5. Fill in the Demande de certification d'un véhicule reconstruit (DCVR), printed on legal-size paper from the SAAQ's website.
6. Book the technical appraisal at a mechanical inspection centre that offers it, and hand the complete record to the road vehicle inspection agent. Leave sealant, soundproofing and rustproofing compound off the underside until after the appraisal, and make sure the assembly points can be seen or are photographed. If the vehicle passes, the centre issues a technical compliance certificate. If it doesn't, make the corrections and book another appraisal.
7. Have the mechanical inspection done. If the vehicle meets the applicable standards, you get a mechanical inspection certificate.
8. Register it at an SAAQ service outlet with your driver's licence or other official photo ID and both certificates. You also need the civil liability insurance Quebec requires, from a private insurer.

The appraisal is at your expense, and the SAAQ can refuse an application when anything is missing from the record, so keep everything in one place from the start.

After it's Reconstruit

Reconstruit then shows on the vehicle's record and registration certificate, so the next buyer can see it. A rebuilt vehicle bought outside Quebec needs both certificates too: the SAAQ says the buyer has to take it to a mechanical inspection centre for a technical compliance certificate and a mechanical inspection certificate.

What the appraisal doesn't tell a buyer

The two certificates say the vehicle met the SAAQ's requirements on the day it was checked. They aren't a warranty, and they say nothing about how it has been looked after since. The SAAQ's own guide notes that the inspection agent currently checks only that the airbags, the seat belts with pretensioners and the control module were replaced, although manufacturers may require more. The manufacturer's warranty no longer covers a severely damaged vehicle either.

Buying a Reconstruit vehicle? Ask for the rebuilding record and both certificates, and pay an independent mechanic for a pre-purchase inspection.

Reconstruit listings on DNF show the status as the seller reports it from the registration. Browse rebuilt vehicles in Quebec or salvage vehicles in Quebec, or read the Quebec salvage rules guide for what each status means.