The purpose of a brake and lamp inspection is to assure that a vehicle being issued a salvage certificate is in a safe and roadworthy condition prior to being retitled.

When you "revive" a salvaged vehicle, either due to accident damage or theft of the vehicle, the California Department of Motor Vehicles considers the ownership of the vehicle to be changed, even though the owner remains the same.

DMV requires that a State Licensed Inspection station conduct a thorough and complete examination of these critical components which may have been possibly damaged or misaligned due to an accident or as a result of theft damage.

A vehicle may also need such an inspection to correct a defect cited by a law enforcement agency such as the California Highway patrol. This is called a Brake and Lamp Inspection and when successfully completed, a certificate is issued to be presented to the DMV or California Highway Patrol as proof of correction of any cited condition and the safety of the vehicle.