What a VIN verification actually is
A VIN verification is a physical inspection of the plate on the car. California REG 31 is filled by a licensed verifier, not the applicant. Texas VTR-270 was the owner VIN-certification path.
What is a VIN verification? It is not reading the 17 characters. That other paper on this site is about what the plate encodes. This one is a person standing at the car and writing the VIN they see.
In California the applicant does not fill REG 31. A licensed vehicle verifier, a peace officer, an authorized auto club employee, or DMV staff physically inspects a complete assembled vehicle and completes Verification of Vehicle. Stamped signatures do not count.
Texas printed the owner path on VTR-270: Vehicle Identification Number Certification. The owner certifies a physical look at the VIN when a safety-inspection VIN check does not apply — exempt, out of state, or title-only. It is not VTR-68-A, the investigator inspection. Texas later moved that self-cert onto the title application after non-commercial safety inspections ended. It is not salvage, not revived salvage, not junk. Those brands sit on the title. This sheet only says someone looked at the plate.
