About this site
How we check things
The rules every guide here has to pass before it goes up, and what we do when we get something wrong.
Claims are traced to the body that publishes them
Vehicle record data comes from a small number of identifiable sources: state motor vehicle agencies, the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System (NMVTIS) run by the U.S. Department of Justice, NHTSA for recalls and safety data, insurers, and salvage auctions. Where a guide makes a factual claim about what a record contains, it names which of these it comes from.
We do not test vehicles
Nothing on this site is based on us inspecting, driving or buying a car. We read what the agencies and the providers publish, and we write up what is actually in it. Any guide that reads as though we handled a specific vehicle would be wrong, and we want to hear about it.
Figures are attributed or left out
Statistics carry the body that published them. Prices for report services move, so where we mention them we point to the provider's own current pricing page rather than printing a number that goes stale. We do not publish scores, ratings or star values of our own.
Providers are described the way they describe themselves
Whether a service is an Approved NMVTIS Data Provider is a matter of public record: the Department of Justice publishes the list. We use that list, not a provider's marketing language, and we describe each service's sourcing in the terms it can actually support.
Corrections are dated
When a guide changes materially, the updated date at the top of it changes too. If you find an error, write to contact@securevinstatus.com and say which page and which claim.
Commercial links do not change the content
Affiliate relationships are disclosed on every page through the footer and in full on our affiliate disclosure. No provider reviews our guides before publication or pays for placement in them.