There is no MPI website where you type in a VIN. What Manitoba Public Insurance offers is a phone check on whether a vehicle was ever an Autopac write-off, the Transfer of Ownership document the seller must hand you, and a pointer to the Teranet Property Registry for liens. This page walks through each, then shows what to run for the history MPI does not hold.
MPI's write-off check and the TOD stop at the provincial border. A vehicle that arrived from Alberta, Ontario or the U.S. has a record MPI never saw — and MPI's own buying guide tells you to get an independent report for exactly this reason.
A total loss in Saskatchewan or Ontario, rebuilt and brought into Manitoba with a Certificate of Inspection, is not an Autopac write-off and will not come up on the phone.
Collisions repaired under a claim rather than written off, which are far more common than write-offs and appear on neither the TOD nor the phone check.
Each recorded reading in sequence, so a rollback shows as a break. No Manitoba document publishes this.
Every registration on record with province and dates, including how long the current owner has held it.
Title brands, auction sales and theft records from before the vehicle crossed the border — invisible to every Manitoba check.
Before paying for anything, run the official checks — they are the authoritative records, and most cost nothing. Each one covers a single slice of the vehicle's history:
Shows whether the vehicle was ever an Autopac write-off — call 204-985-7000 in Winnipeg or 1-800-665-2410 toll-free with the serial number (VIN). Covers Manitoba write-offs only; MPI states it can only confirm a write-off that happened in Manitoba.
Shows whether anyone other than the legal owner has a registered financial interest in the vehicle. Covers liens registered in Manitoba only — a loan registered in another province does not appear.
Shows whether the VIN is currently on the national stolen-vehicle file. Covers vehicles reported stolen anywhere in Canada.
Each official check stops at its own border: MPI's records cover Manitoba only, a stolen-vehicle hit says nothing about accidents, and a recall search says nothing about liens. None of them follows a vehicle that moved between provinces or came up from the U.S. Running the VIN here pulls cross-North-America records — accident and damage history, odometer readings, title brands, theft and lien records — into one report, so you can see what the official checks each miss.
Confirm the seller is the legal owner. The legal owner is named on the right side of the Manitoba registration card, and only the legal owner can sell the vehicle.
Ask for the Transfer of Ownership Document (TOD). It records whether the vehicle was previously written off and rebuilt, or is currently a write-off. A private seller must give you the TOD and a signed bill of sale.
Call MPI with the serial number — 204-985-7000 in Winnipeg, 1-800-665-2410 toll-free — to confirm whether it was ever an Autopac write-off. MPI can only confirm write-offs that happened in Manitoba.
Search the Teranet Property Registry for liens, and run the free CPIC stolen vehicle check. Then enter the VIN above for the history none of these hold: ownership and damage outside Manitoba, odometer readings over time, and U.S. records on imported vehicles.
As Manitoba's public auto insurer, MPI knows about claims it paid and vehicles it wrote off. It publishes no online VIN search, and its official buying guide tells private buyers to purchase an independent vehicle history report to confirm the vehicle's history within and outside Manitoba. That is the honest shape of the system: MPI for Manitoba write-offs, an independent check for everything else.
Manitoba law requires dealers to disclose a vehicle's history. A private seller has no such duty, which is why MPI recommends both a mechanical inspection and a history report before a private purchase. The TOD is the one document a private seller is obliged to give you.
A vehicle needs a valid Certificate of Inspection (COI) to be registered in Manitoba, and a rebuilt vehicle must pass inspection before it can return to the road. The COI says the vehicle met the safety standard on the day it was inspected. It says nothing about where it came from or what happened to it before.
MPI does not hold lien records. Registered financial interests are searched through the Teranet Property Registry, and only Manitoba registrations appear there. A lien follows the vehicle, so a loan registered in another province can still be enforced against a car now plated in Manitoba.
A buyer in Brandon is looking at a 2018 crossover with a Manitoba plate. The TOD shows no write-off and MPI confirms by phone that it was never an Autopac loss. The full report shows the vehicle registered in Ontario from new until 2023, a damage record in Ontario in 2022 and a rebuilt brand applied there before the move west. Every Manitoba check was accurate; none of them could see Ontario. The buyer now knows what the vehicle is and can price it as a rebuilt, or walk away.
See a full sample report| MPI phone check and TOD | Vektracer free preview | Full report | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Autopac write-off in Manitoba | Yes — authoritative | Included in brand and damage counts | Event with date and province |
| Write-off or brand in another province | No | Count | Each brand with province and date |
| Repaired collision and damage records | No | Count | Each event, with severity where reported |
| Odometer readings over time | No | Count | Full sequence, rollback flagged |
| Ownership history by province | No | Count | Every registration with dates |
| U.S. history on imported vehicles | No | Count | Titles, brands, auction records and photos |
| Reported stolen | No — use CPIC | Count | Record detail |
| Liens | No — Teranet Property Registry | Not covered | Not covered — search Teranet |
No. Manitoba Public Insurance publishes no web tool for searching a VIN. Its buying guide offers a phone check on Autopac write-off status and recommends an independent vehicle history report for history inside and outside Manitoba.
Call MPI with the serial number: 204-985-7000 in Winnipeg or 1-800-665-2410 toll-free. MPI will confirm whether the vehicle was ever an Autopac write-off. It can only confirm write-offs that occurred in Manitoba. The Transfer of Ownership Document the seller gives you also records write-off and rebuilt status.
Yes. Manitoba registration documents and MPI's own guidance use "serial number" for the 17-character Vehicle Identification Number. Enter the serial number from the registration card as the VIN.
Through the Teranet Property Registry, online at teranetmanitoba.ca or by phone at 1-844-737-5684. MPI does not hold lien records. The registry shows Manitoba registrations only, so for a vehicle that came from another province, search that province's registry as well.
The TOD is the Manitoba document a seller must provide when a vehicle changes hands. It identifies the vehicle and the legal owner and records whether the vehicle was previously written off and rebuilt or is currently a write-off. Do not buy without it.
No. The COI confirms the vehicle met Manitoba's safety standard on the inspection date. A rebuilt vehicle that passes inspection gets a COI like any other. History — write-offs elsewhere, accidents, odometer readings, previous owners — is a separate question.
No. There is no public plate lookup in Manitoba or any other province; privacy law prevents it. Use the serial number from the registration card.
MPI points buyers to Transport Canada's recall database, which is searched by make, model and year rather than by VIN, and suggests confirming with the owner that recall work was done. Open recalls also appear in the full report.
Enter the VIN to see which records exist. The preview is free.