Georgia Total Loss / Salvage Rebuilt Process

Diminished Value Car Appraisals, Information Center
/ Diminished Value Car Appraiser
/ Updated on November 1, 2022

Was your car declared a total loss?
Do you want to retain it as a salvage and then rebuild it?

This article describes the process in Georgia.

Since you are retaining your salvage vehicle, you must understand that for your vehicle to be legal on Georgia roads it must:

Have a REBUILT or RESTORED title (you cannot register a vehicle with a salvage title)
Must pass a State Motor Vehicle Division Inspection; and,
Must have a new Georgia license plate issued and affixed to it before it can be driven.

Requirements to rebuild a salvage vehicle:

You must obtain photographs of the vehicle in its wrecked or damaged condition. These photographs must accompany your application for a Rebuilt title.
You must retain and submit parts bills of sale for all parts used to restore the vehicle showing the re-builder or you, the vehicle owner, as the purchaser
You must apply for a Rebuilt title and an inspection by the State Motor Vehicle Division’s Inspection Section once the vehicle has been restored or rebuilt but before the vehicle is painted. You must submit a check or money order for the total fees due payable to the Department of Revenue. The title fee is $18 and the inspection fee is $100.

Notice: Georgia law requires the license plate to be removed from this vehicle immediately and submitted to the Department of Motor Vehicles once the vehicle is classified as a salvage vehicle*.

Instructions for Applying for a Salvage Title – Owner Retains Vehicle in Settlement of a Total Loss Claim

To apply for a rebuilt title and vehicle inspection, submit the following to one of the Department approved private inspectors or stations:

One or more photographs of the vehicle in its salvaged/wrecked condition before any repairs are made.
Completed and signed Form MV-1 Title/Tag Application.
Original valid salvage title issued in the vehicle owner’s name or properly assigned to the owner.
Completed and signed Form T-22R Request for Inspection of a Rebuilt Motor Vehicle.
Completed and signed Form T-129 Labor and Parts Certification.
Provide receipts for new or used parts used to restore/rebuild the vehicle should including:
- Part names and stock numbers
- Show the vehicle owner or rebuilder as the purchaser of the parts. (The rebuilder’s name, as shown on the parts receipts must be shown of Form T-129.)
- For used parts, show the part name and the vehicle identification number (VIN) of the vehicle from which the part was taken.
  - Parts vehicles must have a title on file with the Department or submitted at the time of the application.
  - If the parts are from another state, provide a letter of certification from the other state.
Copy of Rebuilder’s License.
$100.00 inspection fee for the inspection station.

Note: All of the above items must be available at inspection. The vehicle must be towed, not driven to the inspection site.

Once the vehicle passes inspection, all of the above paperwork along with the inspector’s report and registration must be submitted with:

$118.00 made payable to the Department of Revenue ($18.00 title fee and $100.00 state inspection fee).

Submit to:

DOR/Motor Vehicle Division
Attn: Salvage Unit
P. O. Box 740384
Atlanta, Georgia 30374-0384

Vehicles must go through the Rebuilt process if:

Branded “Salvage” in Georgia.
Out of state branded “Salvage,” “Flood,” “Water,” “Fire,” and “Total Loss.”
Tractor cab restored with a glider kit.

If the out-of-state title is branded as “Rebuilt” or “Restored,” (indicating that the vehicle is no longer in a damaged condition) the rebuilt vehicle procedures must be completed except for the following: