Transparency
Where our data comes from
A history report is only as good as its sources. This page lists what goes into a PriorMile report, how fresh it is, and - just as important - what no report can promise.
The sources
Official title, brand and salvage records
The national title database is the shared title record that state DMVs, insurers and junk/salvage yards are required to report into. It is the backbone of the report: title issuances by state, title brands (salvage, rebuilt, flood, junk and others), and junk/salvage/total-loss reporting. We access these title records through a licensed data provider.
NHTSA safety recalls
Open recalls come from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's public recall data: safety defects the manufacturer must fix free of charge, matched to the vehicle. An open recall on an airbag or brake component is something to schedule before the first drive, not after.
Theft records
Theft and recovery records of the kind aggregated by the National Insurance Crime Bureau from its member insurers: theft claims, recoveries, and export records. These catch active theft reports and theft-damage history that a seller may not mention.
Auction, insurance and listing data
Salvage-auction listings (frequently with damage photos), insurer total-loss records, and dealer/marketplace listing history with advertised mileage and prices. Auction photos are often the most honest document in a report - they show the damage itself, not a code for it.
How fresh the data is
Your report is assembled at the moment you order it - we query our sources live and build the report from what they return, rather than serving a pre-generated document. The report is an immutable snapshot: it shows what the sources said at that timestamp, and we keep it unchanged so you can rely on what you saw.
Upstream, each source updates on its own schedule: the agencies, insurers and yards that report title records do so on cycles that range from near-real-time to periodic batches, recalls update as NHTSA publishes them, and auction listings appear around sale events. A very recent event - last week's accident, yesterday's title transfer - may not have reached the databases yet.
Coverage notes
Coverage is strongest for vehicles with US and Canadian history. Records exist only where something was reported: a car serviced at independent shops, insured minimally and never inspected leaves a thinner trail than a dealer-maintained car in a strict-inspection state.
That is why the free preview exists: it shows how many records each section holds for your VIN before you pay, so you never buy a report for a vehicle we have little data on.
What no report can promise
A history report contains what was reported - nothing more. An accident fixed in a driveway and never claimed, mileage never recorded, or an event that simply has not propagated yet will not appear. A clean report lowers risk; it does not replace an independent pre-purchase inspection, and we will never claim otherwise.