Virginia Requiring ELT Participation by October 2015

According the Virginia Electronic Lien Mandate published by the Virginia DMV, "all banking and financial institutions that record 50 or more auto liens per year will be required to electronically transmit lien information to the VA DMV through an approved service provider." As a result of the mandate, ELT participation will be required beginning October 1, 2015 for those institutions.

DDI's Premier eTitleLien® system is the perfect solution to allow lenders to receive and release vehicle titles electronically with an easy-to-use, secure, web-based application, including many features that are unique to DDI and part of our commitment to provide a Premier customer experience.

Through ELT, VA lienholders will have the benefit of saying time, cutting costs, reducing paper, enhancing security and deterring fraud. DDI's ELT service greatly enhances daily vehicle title processing. There are no costs to enroll in the Virginia ELT program.

DDI participates in the ELT programs offered nationwide, including: AZ, CA, FL, GA, HI, IA, ID, LA, MA, MD, NC, NE, NY, OH, PA, SC, SD, TX, VA, WA, and WI.

For more information on Premier eTitleLien® or participating in the Virginia ELT program, please visit http://www.etitlelien.com or click here to enroll in VA ELT!

Image above is from Virginia Car Properties, a company specializing in "real estate or businesses with a strong automotive use component."

North Carolina ELT Quick Facts

The North Carolina DMV has recently begun accepting applications for their Electronic Lien and Title (ELT) program. We wanted to provide some "Quick Facts" about the upcoming program.

• The State of North Carolina is now accepting enrollment forms for their ELT program with a targeted “go-live” date of November 15, 2014. 
• Once active in the ELT program, a lender will receive electronic lien notifications – no more paper titles with liens will be sent by the NC DMV. 
• Lenders will have the ability to request and receive paper titles. 
• The ELT program provides for an immediate lien release for title printing pickup at DMV offices in Huntersville, Charlotte and Raleigh. There will be a state fee for this service. 
• Requested paper titles can also be mailed to the lender. An alternate mailing address can be specified for mailing printed titles, with or without liens. 
• NC has implemented a state transaction fee. The per-transaction state fee for lien notifications is $3.50. 
• To recover their costs, participating lienholders or their agents may charge the borrower of a motor vehicle loan or the lessee of an automotive lease an amount equal to the transaction fee per lien notification plus a fee in an amount not to exceed $3.00 for each electronic transaction where a lien is notated. 
• MANDATORY PARTICIPATION: Beginning January 1, 2016, all individuals and lienholders who are normally engaged in the business or practice of financing motor vehicles, and who conduct at least five transactions annually are required to enroll in the NC ELT program. 
• Lenders will receive a new lien notification each time an additional lien in placed on a title and each time a lien is released, regardless of their lien position. As a result, lenders can release their lien on a title, regardless of position. 
• No changes will be made to existing NC Title Application forms. http://www.ncdot.gov/download/dmv/VR_MVR1.pdf 
• No changes will be made to existing state title fees. For Title and Registration Fees: http://www.ncdot.gov/dmv/fees/?s=VF 
• NC will support a title inquiry that will indicate if a lien is in place. Current state cost for this title inquiry is $2.00. 

For more information about the North Carolina ELT program and for the enrollment form, please visit etitlelien.com.

Image above is North Carolina "Home" car magnet.

The NCBA 118th Annual Convention

DDI's Angela Leon and Amanda Jensen are joining North Carolina bankers at the NCBA 118th Annual Convention in Palm Beach, FL. As the endorsed Electronic Lien and Title (ELT) vendor for Community Bank Services (CBS), Decision Dynamics, Inc. is helping to spread the word about the upcoming ELT program offered by the NC Division of Motor Vehicles.

DDI is hoping to have as many lenders enrolled in the ELT program as possible prior to the program becoming mandatory on July 1, 2015.  Not only are there significant benefits to Electronic Lien and Title programs, but enrolling early in the program helps the state handle the large number of newly required participants, as was the case when both Florida and Georgia began requiring participation in 2013.

If you are also attending the NCBA annual convention, please come say "hello".  We'd love to hear any concerns you may about about electronic titling in North Carolina or to show you how Premier eTitleLien® already offers a number of features for NC lenders.

Image above is "Active Pool Sunrise" at The Breakers in Palm Beach, FL.

2014 Premier eTitleLien Users Group Conference

The 2014 Premier eTitleLien® Users Group Conference and ELT Symposium has ended.   We had a great conference with topics on vehicle lending legislation (including an update on the impact of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)), requirements and restrictions related to eSignature and electronic transactions, upcoming state changes to ELT programs, a Question and Answer time with several state DMVs, and a look at some of the new features implemented in Premier eTitleLien®.

All the staff from Decision Dynamics, Inc. who were able to make it this year in Savannah were very pleased to be able to meet with our users again face to face.  We had many enlightening discussions about changes to their companies and changing needs for vehicle lending.  We were also happy to have attendees representing both the South Carolina and Arizona DMVs, as well as remote participation from the Alabama, California, and Florida DMVs.

One of the last presentations highlighted a growing service at DDI that came up frequently throughout the conference: The Premier Title and Registration Service Center.  "Be the Hero!" was the theme for the DDI Title Center (as it is referred to) which offers several services that supplement Premier eTitleLien®:

• Process title application or registration forms.  This was of particular interest for customers who only occasionally need to work outside their home state.
• Vault paper titles for states that do not have an ELT program.  This allows paper titles to be "electronic" and for Premier eTitleLien to be a single point for managing all titles.
• Provide estimates of title and registration fees.

We're already looking forward to our next conference!

Image above is from our Be the Hero campaign for the Premier Title and Registration Service Center.

North Carolina ELT Program On Schedule

The North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles is on schedule to implement the North Carolina Electronic Lien and Title (ELT) program by their deadline of July 1, 2014. Full details of the program are not yet available, but DDI expects to begin testing in June and will begin enrolling customers for participation as details are made available.

NC legislation specifies that the program is mandatory for all individuals and lenders who normally finance motor vehicles beginning July 1, 2015, giving lienholders 12 months to enroll before the deadline.

DDI continues to work with NC Bankers Association members as the endorsed ELT vendor for Community Bank Services. Our team will be hosting instructional webinars prior to July 1 to answer questions about the NC ELT program.

Premier eTitleLien® has included support for NC Title Application forms and Title Inquiry services for many years and currently processes NC Titles through the Premier Title and Registration Service Center. DDI is looking forward to providing lenders access to the full features of ELT in North Carolina.

Image above is North Carolina String Art by Tori Naylor.

Maryland ELT Coming Soon

DDI had the privilege of meeting with the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA) today to discuss their plans to implement their new ELT program.  Maryland announced their intention to implement an ELT program in April 2013 and issued an RFP looking for service providers.  DDI received a contract to become a Maryland Electronic Lien Service Provider in April 2014.

The MD MVA outlined their plans for the first phase of the MD Electronic Lien Service program.  Initially the ELT program will include the basic transactions, primarily: a notification of lien from the state and release lien and request for a printed title from the lender.  Their expectation is to begin testing the first phase of the program with DDI in June 2014 and to begin processing regular ELT transactions with participating lenders in July 2014.

DDI is working with the Maryland MVA on additional details, including the enrollment processes for lenders to begin participating in the ELS program.  DDI's ELT solution, Premier eTitleLien®, already incorporates a number of features for handling titles in Maryland, including generating forms and retrieving title record information.

Image above is a 30 foot tall crash dummy located in front of the Maryland MVA Glen Burnie offices.

Electronic Title Processing in Wisconsin

The Wisconsin Department of Transportation Division of Motor Vehicles has offered different types of electronic transactions for lenders even before beginning their Electronic Lien and Title (ELT) program in 2012. 

Since July 1, 2010 the WI DMV requires lenders to electronically process lien add transactions. There are exemptions for individuals and lenders who normally file very few liens. Lenders who are not exempt and do not file electronically are assessed an additional $25 transaction fee. For details about exemptions and fees please see the WI DMV Financial Institutions page. DDI works with the WI e-MV Agent program to integrate electronic lien filing into Premier eTitleLien®.

Two changes were made to the title / lien program in 2012.  They became, in their words, a "title to lienholder state" and an "electronic title state". Previously, Wisconsin sent titles with liens to the vehicle owner once the lien had been recorded. (States with such programs are sometimes referred to as title holding states.) Most other states have lienholders store the vehicle title until the loan is satisfied.

Wisconsin also began offering electronic titles to lienholders through their Electronic Lien and Title Program (ELT). The program is currently optional: "lien holders are encouraged to receive titles electronically via electronic service provider." The Wisconsin DMV has discussed requiring participation but are not currently planning to do so.  Since launching the ELT program, WI has made steady improvements, adding additional ELT program transactions.

The combination of the electronic transactions offered through the e-MV Agent program and the ELT program brings together a number of valuable services for lenders:

• Vehicle Title Information and lien verification
• Immediate lien notation
• Immediate lien release
• Paperless lien transactions

For more information about Premier eTitleLien®, please visit www.etitlelien.com.  For more information about the Wisconsin ELT program, check out www.WIELT.com.

Image above is 350 Kayak Formation Wisconsin, USA. "Huge 350 made by kayakers on the water in Washburn, Wisconsin in June, 2009."