State law
Total loss laws by state
States decide when a damaged vehicle counts as a total loss in different ways. Some set a percentage of the vehicle’s value, some compare repair cost plus salvage value with its value, and some leave the decision to the insurer. Choose your state to see its rule, what a settlement must include and the title rules, each with its source.
Total loss rule lookup
Total loss rule
—
General information with the sources on each state page. Not legal advice.
| State | Rule | Statute or rule | In short |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alaska | Repair cost exceeds value | 2 AAC 92.170(c); 3 AAC 26.080(g) | Alaska sets no damage percentage. Its motor vehicle rules treat a vehicle as a constructive total loss when the cost of repairing it exceeds the vehicle's worth or insured value, and the insurance claim rules speak of a vehicle that is 'economically unrepairable'. In practice the insurer makes that call when it adjusts the claim. |
| Arizona | Insurer decides | A.R.S. § 28-2091(T)(3) | Arizona sets no damage percentage. The title statute defines a salvage vehicle as one stolen, wrecked, flood damaged or otherwise damaged to the extent that the owner, leasing company, financial institution or insurance company considers it uneconomical to repair. On an insured loss, that judgment is the insurer's. |
| Arkansas | 70% threshold | Ark. Code § 27-14-2301; DFA Rule 2007-8 (006.05.07 Ark. Code R. 007) | Arkansas title law makes a vehicle a 'salvage vehicle' when damage equals or exceeds 70 percent of its average retail value in a state-approved pricing guide, or when it was submerged above the dashboard. That is a title-branding test, not a rule telling insurers when to declare a total loss, but it applies to insured losses: an insurer that pays out on a salvage vehicle must take a salvage title or report the vehicle to the Office of Motor Vehicle. Motorcycles, trucks of 10,000 pounds or more unladen, and vehicles more than seven model years old are outside the salvage rules. |
| California | Insurer decides | Cal. Veh. Code § 544 | California sets no damage percentage. A 'total loss salvage vehicle' is one damaged to the extent that the owner or the insurance company responsible for the repair considers it uneconomical to repair, or one the insurer has paid as a total loss with the claimant's agreement to the settlement amount. On an insured loss, that judgment is the insurer's. |
| Colorado | Repair cost exceeds value | C.R.S. § 42-6-102(17); C.R.S. § 10-4-639(3) | Colorado sets no damage percentage. Title law makes a vehicle a 'salvage vehicle' when the insurer determines it is a total loss, or when the cost of repairing it to roadworthy condition exceeds its retail fair market value just before the damage (hail damage and theft are excluded). Insurers must have a fair and consistent method for deciding total loss. |
| Delaware | Insurer decides | 21 Del. C. § 2512(a) | No Delaware statute or regulation was found that sets a damage percentage for a total loss. The title law is triggered by the insurer's own decision: when a vehicle is transferred as salvage as a result of a total loss insurance settlement, a salvage certificate is required. |
| District of Columbia | 75% threshold | D.C. Code § 50-1331.01(12)(A) | D.C. law defines a salvage vehicle as one damaged so badly that the cost of parts and labor to rebuild it to its pre-damage condition is more than 75 percent of its retail value before the damage. That definition governs title branding for every damaged vehicle, insured or not; no D.C. statute or regulation was found that tells an insurer when it must declare a total loss. |
| Florida | Insurer decides | Fla. Stat. § 319.30(3)(a) | For an insured vehicle, Florida's title law says it is a total loss when the insurance company pays the owner to replace it with one of like kind and quality (or pays for a theft); it is not a total loss if the insurer and owner agree to repair instead. The 80 percent test in the same statute applies only to uninsured vehicles. |
| Georgia | Insurer decides | Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 120-2-52-.06; O.C.G.A. § 40-3-2(11) | Georgia sets no damage percentage. The insurance rule applies whenever the insurer determines the vehicle to be a total loss, and the title law treats a vehicle as salvage once an insurance company has paid a total loss claim and it has not been repaired (cosmetic-only damage other than fire or flood is excluded), or when repair would require replacing two or more major component parts. |
| Hawaii | Repair cost exceeds value | Haw. Rev. Stat. § 286-2 (definition of 'rebuilt vehicle'); § 431:10C-309 | Hawaii's motor vehicle code, in its definition of a rebuilt vehicle, says a vehicle declared a total loss by an insurer counts as a total loss only if there is material damage (including flood damage) to its electronics, frame, unitized structure or suspension and the projected repair cost exceeds its market value at the time of the incident. That definition governs rebuilt-vehicle branding; the insurance code tells insurers how to settle a total loss but does not define when a car must be totaled. |
| Idaho | Insurer decides | Idaho Code § 49-123(2)(o), (2)(s) | Idaho sets no damage percentage. A vehicle is a total loss when an insurer or other person pays the owner because the vehicle is deemed uneconomical to repair, and it is a salvage vehicle when the owner or insurer decides that parts and labor minus salvage value make repair uneconomical. The Idaho Department of Insurance says the insurance company makes that call. |
| Illinois | Insurer decides | 625 ILCS 5/3-117.1(b)(1) | Illinois sets no damage percentage for an insurer's total-loss decision; the insurer decides under the policy. Once an insurance company pays a total loss claim, the Vehicle Code treats it as the owner and the vehicle as salvage. The 50 percent tests in the same section apply to other situations (commercial fleet vehicles, flood vehicles and dealer or rebuilder title applications), not to an insurer's decision on an ordinary claim. |
| Indiana | Insurer decides | Ind. Code § 9-22-3-3(a) | For an insured loss Indiana uses no percentage: a salvage title is required when an insurance company has determined it is economically impractical to repair the vehicle and has made an agreed settlement, and only for vehicles made within the last seven model years. The 70 percent of fair market value test in the same section applies to businesses that insure their own vehicles and to people who acquire a vehicle after it was damaged. |
| Iowa | Insurer decides | Iowa Code § 321.52(4)(b), (4)(e) | Iowa has no statute or rule telling an insurer when it must total a car; the insurer decides under the policy. The 70 percent figure in the Iowa Code defines a "wrecked or salvage vehicle" for title purposes (repair cost above 70 percent of pre-damage fair market value), and any vehicle whose ownership passes to an insurer in a damage settlement is treated as wrecked or salvage whatever the percentage. |
| Kansas | Insurer decides | K.S.A. 8-197(b)(2) | Kansas does not fix a percentage at which an insurer must total a car. For title purposes a "salvage vehicle" includes any vehicle the insurer determines is a total loss and takes title to, and also a late model vehicle (current model year or the six before it) whose repair cost is 75 percent or more of its fair market value just before the damage, not counting purely cosmetic hail or wind damage. |
| Kentucky | 75% threshold | KRS 186A.520(1)(a); KRS 186A.530(7)(b) | Kentucky requires a salvage title when the cost of parts and labor to rebuild a vehicle to its pre-accident condition is more than 75 percent of its retail value, not counting the cost of reinstalling a deployed airbag. The figure bites on insured losses: if the owner keeps the vehicle, the insurer may not pay a damage claim that meets or exceeds 75 percent of the vehicle's value until the owner has surrendered the title or applied for a salvage title. Hail-damaged vehicles are handled separately. |
| Louisiana | 75% threshold | La. R.S. 32:702 (definitions of "total loss" and "salvage title") | Louisiana's vehicle title law defines a total loss as a vehicle with damage equal to 75 percent or more of its market value under the current NADA handbook, and a salvage title is the document that records an insurance settlement declaring the vehicle a total loss. The definition sits in the title law, not the Insurance Code, so the insurer applies it when it settles the claim. |
| Maine | Insurer decides | 29-A M.R.S. § 602(13) and (19) | Maine sets no percentage. The motor vehicle code treats a vehicle as salvage when an insurer or owner declares it a total loss, and the Bureau of Insurance says the Insurance Code does not require any particular method to decide when a vehicle is a total loss. |
| Maryland | Insurer decides | COMAR 31.15.12.02B(9); Md. Code, Transp. § 13-506(c) | Maryland's insurance regulation treats a private passenger vehicle as a total loss when the cost of repairs (which may include estimated hidden damage and anticipated rental cost) equals or exceeds the vehicle's actual cash value, or a percentage of that value chosen by the insurer. The 75 percent figure in the Transportation Article decides how the salvage certificate is marked, and it expressly does not limit an insurer's or owner's right to decide not to repair. |
| Massachusetts | Insurer decides | 211 CMR 133.05; M.G.L. c. 90D, § 1 | Massachusetts sets no percentage. Under the Division of Insurance repair regulation, when the appraised cost of repair plus the probable salvage value may reasonably be expected to exceed the vehicle's actual cash value, the insurer must determine that actual cash value; the salvage title law treats a vehicle as total loss salvage when the insurer (or the owner, if uninsured) considers it uneconomical to repair and it is not repaired for the person who owned it at the time. |
| Michigan | Insurer decides | MCL 257.217c(2); MCL 257.12a; MCL 257.24b | No Michigan statute found tells an insurer when it must total a car. The 75 percent figure comes from the Vehicle Code's title rules for late model vehicles (the current and five prior model years for vehicles of 8,000 pounds or less): when an insurer pays a claim and the estimated repair cost is 75 percent or more of the pre-damage actual cash value, the vehicle gets a salvage title, and at 91 percent or more a scrap title. |
| Minnesota | Insurer decides | Minn. Stat. § 168A.01, subd. 17b; § 168A.151, subd. 1 | No Minnesota statute found sets a percentage at which an insurer must total a car. The title law defines a salvage vehicle as one an insurance company has declared a total loss or paid a total loss claim on, or one whose repair cost exceeds 80 percent of its value just before the damage; that 80 percent test is a title-branding rule. |
| Mississippi | Insurer decides | Miss. Code § 63-21-33; Mississippi Department of Revenue, Salvage Vehicles | Mississippi sets no damage percentage. A vehicle becomes a salvage vehicle when an insurance company takes it from the owner after paying a total loss claim, so the insurer's decision under the policy controls. Vehicles 10 years old or older worth $1,500 or less, and vehicles needing repair or replacement of five or fewer minor component parts, are outside the salvage definition. |
| Missouri | Insurer decides | Mo. Rev. Stat. § 301.010(55) | Missouri's title law defines a salvage vehicle as one damaged within six years of its model year where repairs would cost more than 80% of its fair market value before the damage, or any vehicle an insurance company declares salvage when it settles a claim. The 80% test is a title-branding definition (it excludes hail damage, airbags, tires and sound systems from the repair cost); no statute or insurance rule found sets a percentage at which an insurer must total a car. |
| Montana | Insurer decides | Mont. Code Ann. § 61-3-210(8) | Montana sets no damage percentage. A salvage vehicle is one damaged to the point that the owner, an insurer, or someone acting for the owner determines the cost of parts and labor makes it uneconomical to repair. In an insurance claim that call is made by the insurer under the policy. |
| Nebraska | Insurer decides | Neb. Rev. Stat. § 60-171(3), (7) | Nebraska's title law gives a 'salvage' designation to a late model vehicle (the current or six preceding model years, or one above a set retail value) when the estimated cost to repair it meets or exceeds 75% of its retail value at the time of the damage. That is a title-branding definition; no statute or insurance rule found sets a percentage at which an insurer must declare a total loss. |
| Nevada | 65% threshold | NRS 487.790; NRS 487.770; NRS 487.890 | Nevada's vehicle code defines a total loss vehicle as one damaged so that the cost of repair is 65 percent or more of its fair market value immediately before the damage. Repair cost for this test leaves out painting, replacing electronic components and towing, and vehicles 10 model years old or older that only need certain bolt-on parts (hood, trunk lid, a fender, up to two doors, bumper, grille or light assemblies) are excluded. A vehicle that meets the definition is a salvage vehicle and must be salvage-titled, including when an insurer settles the claim. |
| New Hampshire | 75% threshold | N.H. RSA 261:22, VI; N.H. Admin. Rules Ins 1002.15(a) | New Hampshire's title statute defines a total loss vehicle as one that is physically or economically impractical to repair in an insurance claim settlement, or one whose repair cost is 75 percent or more of its pre-damage fair market value when the damage happens in its model year or the next 4 calendar years (airbags, tires and entertainment systems are left out of the repair cost). The Insurance Department's claim rule tells insurers to determine total losses consistent with that statute, so the 75 percent test applies to insured losses on newer vehicles, and the insurer's impracticality judgment covers the rest. |
| New Mexico | Insurer decides | NMSA 1978, § 66-1-4.16 (definition of salvage vehicle), as set out in the NM Motor Vehicle Division Vehicle Procedures Manual, ch. 9, § E | New Mexico sets no damage percentage. A salvage vehicle is one the owner or the insurer considers uneconomical to repair, or one determined uneconomical to repair for which an insurer makes a total loss payment, and the Motor Vehicle Division says the insurer's declaration controls regardless of how repair cost compares with fair market value. |
| North Carolina | 75% threshold | 11 NCAC 04 .0418(c), (j); N.C. Gen. Stat. § 20-4.01(33)d | Under the Department of Insurance rule, when damage, counting original and supplemental claims, equals or exceeds 75% of the vehicle's pre-accident actual cash value, the insurer must designate it a total loss and pay the pre-accident value. Insurers, adjusters and appraisers may not agree to hold a repair estimate under 75% to avoid this. The title law separately defines a salvage vehicle as one whose repair cost would exceed 75% of fair retail market value, whether or not an insurer has declared a total loss. |
| North Dakota | Insurer decides | N.D. Cent. Code § 39-05-20.2(1) | North Dakota's title law requires the owner of a vehicle damaged in excess of 75% of its retail value (per the NADA used car guide, not counting glass or hail damage) to send the title to the Department of Transportation within 10 days for a salvage certificate of title. That is a titling rule, not a rule telling insurers when to total a car; the Insurance Department says insurers often treat such a vehicle as a total loss. |
| Ohio | Insurer decides | Ohio Rev. Code § 4505.11(C) | Ohio sets no damage percentage. The title statute applies when an insurance company declares it economically impractical to repair a vehicle and pays an agreed price for it, so the decision to total the car rests with the insurer. |
| Oklahoma | Total loss formula | 36 O.S. § 1250.8(M) | For first-party claims, Oklahoma's insurance code defines a total loss as a vehicle whose repair costs plus salvage value meet or exceed its actual cash value before the loss. The 60 percent figure often quoted for Oklahoma (now 70 percent) is a title rule, not the insurer's total-loss test: it decides when a vehicle from the last 10 model years must get a salvage title, and it rose from 60 to 70 percent on November 1, 2026. |
| Oregon | Insurer decides | ORS 801.527 | Oregon sets no damage percentage for insured losses: a vehicle is 'totaled' when an insurer obligated to cover the loss declares it a total loss or takes possession of or title to it. The 80 percent figure in the same statute applies only to damage that is not covered by an insurer (estimated repairs equal to at least 80 percent of pre-damage retail market value). |
| Pennsylvania | Total loss formula | 31 Pa. Code § 62.3(e); 75 Pa.C.S. § 102 ("salvage vehicle") | Pennsylvania has no fixed percentage. Under the appraiser regulation, the loss is valued at the vehicle's replacement value (a total loss) when the cost of repair exceeds its appraised value less salvage value, or when it cannot be repaired to its pre-damage condition. The Vehicle Code separately defines a salvage vehicle as one where repair costs would exceed the value of the repaired vehicle. |
| South Dakota | Insurer decides | SDCL 32-3-51.19 | South Dakota sets no damage percentage. The title law defines a salvage vehicle as one that an insurer or self-insurer determines to be a total loss from theft, fire, vandalism, collision, weather or flood, so the insurer makes the call under the policy. The salvage definition does not apply to vehicles more than 10 model years old or rated over 16,000 pounds. |
| Tennessee | 75% threshold | Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-3-201 et seq., as described by the Tennessee Department of Revenue (article RBLT-1) | The Tennessee Department of Revenue describes a salvage vehicle as a passenger motor vehicle wrecked, destroyed or damaged to the extent that repair costs would exceed 75% of its retail value. That is a title rule: once a vehicle has been deemed a total loss and the claim paid, the insurer or owner must obtain a salvage or non-repairable certificate. The insurance claim rules themselves do not set a percentage at which an insurer must total a car. |
| Texas | Repair cost exceeds value | Tex. Transp. Code § 501.091(15) | Texas title law defines a salvage motor vehicle as one with damage to or a missing major component part such that the cost of repairs (parts and labor, not counting repainting or sales tax on the repairs) exceeds the vehicle's actual cash value immediately before the damage. That definition governs title branding; it does not stop an insurer from totaling a car at a lower figure, and the Texas Department of Insurance says some companies total a car even when the repair cost is below its value. |
| Utah | Repair cost exceeds value | Utah Code § 41-1a-1001(8) | Utah's Motor Vehicle Act defines a salvage vehicle as one damaged by collision, flood or other occurrence to the extent that the cost of repairing it for safe operation exceeds its fair market value, or one that an insurer (or another state) has declared a salvage vehicle. The definition governs titling; because an insurer's own declaration also makes a vehicle salvage, the insurer can total a car below that point. |
| Vermont | Insurer decides | 23 V.S.A. § 2001(13), (14) | Vermont law sets no damage percentage. A totaled motor vehicle is one that an insurance company has declared to be a total loss, and a salvaged motor vehicle includes any vehicle declared a total loss by an insurer. |
| Virginia | Total loss formula | Va. Code § 46.2-1600 | Virginia's salvage law defines a salvage vehicle as a late model vehicle (current model year and the five before it, or any vehicle worth at least $10,000 before the damage) that an insurer acquires through the claims process, or that is damaged so that the estimated cost of repair exceeds its actual cash value less its current salvage value. These are title rules; no statute found sets a percentage at which an insurer must declare a total loss. A separate 75% figure triggers DMV reporting and rebuilt branding, not the total-loss decision. |
| Washington | Insurer decides | RCW 46.04.514; RCW 46.12.600(5) | Washington sets no damage percentage. A salvage vehicle is one whose title was surrendered because it was destroyed or declared a total loss, or one damaged to the extent that the owner, an insurer or someone acting for the owner has determined that the cost of parts and labor plus the salvage value makes it uneconomical to repair. Vehicles six or more model years old count only if they were worth at least the market value threshold ($6,790 or a higher amount set by rule) before the damage and are no more than 20 years old. |
| West Virginia | 75% threshold | W. Va. Code § 17A-4-10(a), (b) | West Virginia's title statute defines a "total loss" as a motor vehicle with damage equal to 75 percent or more of its market value, as determined by a nationally accepted used car value guide, or one that meets the definition of a flood-damaged vehicle. The definition applies when an insurer determines a vehicle is a total loss and pays a total loss claim to an insured or claimant owner; the insurer also decides whether the vehicle is repairable, cosmetically damaged or nonrepairable. |
| Wisconsin | Insurer decides | Wis. Stat. § 340.01(55g); Wis. Stat. § 342.065(1)(c) | No Wisconsin statute or insurance rule found sets the point at which an insurer must declare a total loss. The 70 percent figure in Wisconsin law is a title rule: a vehicle less than 7 years old is a "salvage vehicle" when the estimated or actual repair cost, whichever is greater, exceeds 70 percent of its fair market value. The Office of the Commissioner of Insurance's auto FAQ says an insurance company considers a vehicle a total loss if repairs would cost more than 70 percent of its value. |
Low total loss offer?
The claim review is free: we look at your situation and tell you whether an appraisal is likely to help. The appraisal itself is a paid report. We help from start to finish, including a custom demand letter, and our support staff is a phone call away throughout the process.