Mine wasn't a salvage title but I was regisering the car in Calif for the first time....when I went to the DMV the lady behind the desk came out to the parking lot and verified the vin's,checked all the lights worked, and signed me off on the spot!
My suggestion is to find a DMV office in a small town near you (if you don't already live in a small town). Make an appointment on line before you go. All my local DMV offices were several days out to over a week, the DMV in Woodland, about a 20 minute drive, got me in the next morning at 8:30 and I was on line at 3pm day before!