1. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 2, 10 or 11 of NRS 487.800, if the applicant for a salvage title is unable to furnish the certificates of title and registration last issued for the vehicle, the state agency may accept the application, examine the circumstances of the case and require the filing of suitable affidavits or other information or documents. If satisfied that the applicant is entitled to a salvage title, the state agency may issue the salvage title.
2. No duplicate certificate of title or registration may be issued when a salvage title is applied for, and no fees are required for the affidavits of any stolen, lost or damaged certificate, or duplicates thereof, unless the vehicle is subsequently registered.
3. If an applicant is unable to satisfy the state agency that the applicant is entitled to a salvage title pursuant to subsection 1, the applicant may obtain a salvage title from the state agency by:
(a) Filing a bond with the state agency that meets the requirements of subsection 5;
(b) Allowing the state agency to inspect the vehicle to verify the vehicle identification number and the identification numbers, if any, for parts used to repair the vehicle; and
(c) Authorizing the state agency to conduct a search through any national crime information system, including, without limitation, the:
(1) National Crime Information Center, as defined in NRS 179A.061; and
(2) National Motor Vehicle Title Information System of the United States Department of Justice.
4. Any person damaged by the issuance of the salvage title pursuant to subsection 3 has a right of action to recover on the bond for any breach of its conditions, except the aggregate liability of the surety to all persons must not exceed the amount of the bond. The state agency shall return the bond, and any deposit accompanying it, 3 years after the bond was filed with the state agency, except that the state agency must not return the bond if the state agency has been notified of the pendency of an action to recover on the bond.
5. The bond required pursuant to subsection 3 must be:
(a) In a form prescribed by the state agency;
(b) Executed by the applicant as principal and by a corporation qualified under the laws of this State as surety;
(c) In an amount equal to 25 percent of the value of the vehicle, as determined by the state agency; and
(d) Conditioned to indemnify any:
(1) Prior owner or lienholder of the vehicle, and his or her successors in interest;
(2) Subsequent purchaser of the vehicle, and his or her successors in interest; or
(3) Person acquiring a security interest in the vehicle, and his or her successors in interest,
against any expense, loss or damage because of the issuance of the salvage title or because of any defect in or undisclosed security interest in the applicant’s right or title to the vehicle or the applicant’s interest in the vehicle.
6. A right of action does not exist in favor of any person by reason of any action or failure to act on the part of the state agency or any officer or employee thereof in carrying out the provisions of subsections 3, 4 and 5, or in giving or failing to give any information concerning the legal ownership of a vehicle or the existence of a salvage title obtained pursuant to subsection 3.
(Added to NRS by 1963, 839; A 1979, 1230; 1987, 1603; 1999, 1921; 2003, 472, 1915; 2007, 229; 2017, 2753; 2019, 1448)