Techniques common to commercial/professional vehicle theft operations are the salvage switch; alteration or theft of vehicle identification numbers, (VIN's); and the use of fraudulent, counterfeit, altered, or stolen documents. Weaknesses in the titling/registration process can occur during document intake and processing and during vehicle processing for title/registration; such weaknesses come about when procedures are lacking for the careful inspection of documents and when VIN's are inadequately inspected. Other weaknesses exist regarding document uniformity, title document security, and related laws. Guidelines suggest that title documents should be subjected to inspection and testing procedures that are designed to detect fraudulent documents, that each State should issue a certificate of title as evidence of motor vehicle ownership, that employees responsible for conducting document inspections and review should receive special training, and that foreign title documents should be returned to the State of issue for verification. Other guidelines address the processes involving confirmation of valid titles, physical examination of vehicles, VIN assignment, salvage vehicle and document control, and other procedures. Eight references and Federal guidelines for State motor vehicle titling and antitheft programs are appended.