As of Friday, the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office will begin to offer salvage vehicle theft examinations. Examinations will be conducted on vehicles with a salvage title issued by the county treasurer.
Iowa law requires all vehicles designated “salvage” or vehicles that have a “salvage” title to be physically examined by a peace officer who has been certified by the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy to conduct inspections prior to issuance of an Iowa vehicle registration. The purpose of the salvage theft examination is to physically verify that no stolen parts were used to rebuild a vehicle and to authenticate the vehicle being rebuilt. The following vehicles are subject to inspection: cars, trucks under 30,000 GVWR, motorhomes and motorcycles.
Once the vehicle has been repaired and is ready for inspection, you will need to complete the Vehicle Information and Affidavit of Vehicle Repairs Form. This form also includes payment for the inspection. This information can be found by visiting the website: salvagetheft.iowadot.gov/salvagethefttitle. An online instruction guide is available to aid in completing this information.
The fee for the salvage theft examination is $50, as of Friday and must be paid online by credit card prior to making the appointment for your examination. The applicant must present to the examining officer an Iowa salvage title in the applicant’s name along with all receipts, invoices and documentation for parts used to rebuild the vehicle. If the examination is performed within 30 days of the assignment of ownership, a properly assigned title is acceptable.
Note, if the repair work to your vehicle included the removing of the public VIN on the vehicle dash, you will need to contact the Iowa Department of Transportation, Bureau of Investigation and Identity Protection to schedule an appointment at invbureau@dot.iowa.gov or 515-237-3050.
For more information, or to schedule your Salvage Vehicle Theft Examination, contact: deputy sheriff Jeremy Burdess at the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office at 641-792-5912.