Manitoba follows the Stolen and Wrecked Vehicle Monitoring Program (SWVMP) to monitor and control the movement of stolen and wrecked vehicles. All Canadian jurisdictions have implemented this program.

Program objectives

The main objectives of the SWVMP are to:

• Prohibit the registration of any irreparable vehicle.
• Prevent the registration of any total-loss salvageable vehicle unless it has been rebuilt to approved standards using approved techniques.
• Prevent the registration of stolen vehicles.
• Provide consumers with additional information needed to make a buying decision.

Four statuses

The SWVMP identifies potentially unsafe write-offs and stolen vehicles and prevents them from being registered. All write-offs or stolen vehicles are tracked by their vehicle identification number and assigned a status:

• Stolen: The vehicle has been reported to police and not yet recovered. A stolen vehicle cannot be registered until police remove the stolen designation.
• Irreparable: A write-off damaged to such an extent that it has no value except as a source of parts or scrap metal. An irreparable vehicle can never be registered again.
• Salvageable: A write-off that can be rebuilt. A salvageable vehicle cannot be registered until its status is changed to rebuilt.
• Rebuilt: A salvageable vehicle that has been repaired to standards and has received both a Body Integrity Inspection Certificate and a Certificate of Inspection.

Before buying a used vehicle, check the vehicle's status by looking at the Transfer of Ownership Document (TOD) for that vehicle. See additional information on buying a vehicle.

See more information on when your vehicle is written off in a collision claim.