Ohio Owners: "How do I get my title?"

As an ELT Service Provider, our customers are lenders (banks, credit unions, dealers, and others). We provide services for our customers, including an interface to each state DMV's Electronic Lien and Title program.

Occasionally we have a vehicle owner contact us directly instead of their lender or the state DMV and we like to assist if possible. One question came recently from an Ohio owner needing their title:

When I paid off my car, I got a letter from the bank saying I had an e-title. I am in Ohio. How do I find out if you have my title? I am selling my car.

Please let me know.
Thanks.

Our customer support responded:

Thank you for visiting our Premier eTitleLien™ website. Our company provides electronic lien and title services to lienholders.

To obtain a printed title for a private sale, take your lien release statement from your lienholder to your county Title Office and request a replacement title.

If you are selling your vehicle to a dealer, then a paper title is not required. The dealer can complete a BMV 3772 form.

Visit http://bmv.ohio.gov/faq_vehicle_titling.stm#togfor additional information.

For more information on the ELT program in Ohio, please visit OHELT.com.

Image above is titled Cars around town #6 of model cars at the Medina OH County Fair by Rick Post.

Continue reading Ohio Owners: "How do I get my title?"

NY, OH, and WI lenders can electronically notate liens

If you are a lender in New York, Ohio, or Wisconsin, you have the opportunity to electronically notate liens, saving time and paper-associated costs.

While most states require title application forms to be submitted in a hard-copy, paper format, Ohio, Wisconsin, and New York allow lenders the opportunity to add liens electronically. DDI completely supports this process in Premier eTitleLien™.

To learn more about Premier eTitleLien™, visit etitlelien.com.

Continue reading NY, OH, and WI lenders can electronically notate liens

Ohio Non-Printed Titles

We recently made a few changed to our Ohio ELT information site: OHelt.com including the addition of a FAQ page. One interesting point about electronic or non-printed titles:

I understand that titles are not automatically printed by the BMV after I release my lien. How does my customer get a printed title?

Ohio uses the term "non-printed" to designate electronic titles. An owner should request a printed title in person from a county office. There is a fee as this request generates a replacement title.

Note that a "non-printed" title can be requested by anyone in Ohio: owner or lienholder. A paper title is not required for every transaction. For instance, Ohio answers the question "My title is an electronic title. How may I sell my vehicle to a dealer?" by explaining

The dealer can complete a BMV 3772 form to allow the transfer to or from a motor vehicle dealer. It has a provision for stating mileage and power of attorney.

Image above is an "Advertisement for the Army Press from the Cincinnati Type Foundry Company, Cincinnati, Ohio, about 1862" from the National Museum of American History at the Smithosonian.

Continue reading Ohio Non-Printed Titles

Electronic Title States

A series of questions in which our writer attempts to answer simple-sounding questions without saying things like "Well, yes, they do have ELT but..." Let the reader understand that these are simplified answers. ;)

See the other posts in this short series: Electronic Title States (this post), Upcoming Electronic Title States, States Compelling Participation in ELT, and States Planning to Compel Participation in ELT.

Which states currently have an Electronic Lien and Title (ELT) program?

• Arizona
• California
• Florida
• Georgia
• Hawaii
• Idaho
• Kansas
• Louisiana
• Massachusetts
• Nebraska
• New York
• Ohio
• Pennsylvania
• South Carolina
• Texas
• Utah
• Virginia
• Washington
• Wisconsin

Please note the following:

• The Kansas Electronic Lien and Title program does not currently accommodate direct interaction with service providers like DDI.
• In New York, the program is known as the Electronic Lien Transfer (ELT) Program, since there is no electronic title. Even with liens, owners retain titles in New York state.
• The Utah E-Liens (Electronic Lien Transfers) program does not currently accommodate direct interaction with service providers like DDI.
• The Wisconsin program does not currently meet our definition for a full ELT program, since as in New York, owners retain the paper title and the state does not electronically notify lenders when the lien has been recorded. However, they do require lenders to participate in their lien recording program, e-MV Agent. Wisconsin DOT expects to change to a full ELT program in the Summer of 2012. ("On July 1, 2012, Wisconsin will become an electronic title state.")

If you are a lender and would like a greater explanation of these differences, please contact DDI. If you are a state or would like more technical details, you may also visit our AllAboutTitles.com site.

Image above is United States Map Bookshelf.

Continue reading Electronic Title States

What is good about the Ohio ELT program

I had a call from a customer looking for assistance with an Ohio title. This particular customer was not yet participating in the Ohio ELT program, but just needed some help in getting a title from another lender for their customer who was moving to Michigan.

We chatted briefly about some of the good things with the Ohio program.

• Electronic Notation: There are three states that offer electronic lien notation through the ELT program: Ohio, New York, and Wisconsin. New York and Wisconsin are owner-title-holding states, making electronic notation fairly simple, legally and logistically. Ohio offers the same type of service. This becomes an excellent tool to speed up title processing (*much* more convenient for owners) and helps reduce fraud.
• Free Public Title History: Ohio allows anyone to check on the current status of a title. This becomes a great tool for lenders to verify that a title is current and owners to verify that a lien has been released. One nice side effect for the state is a reduction in calls to their helpdesk.
• Electronic Release of Lien on Paper Title: Lenders can release liens electronically even for paper titles. This allows lenders to be more responsive when loans are paid off.

More information:

• Information on pros and cons of each state's ELT program is kept on our AllAboutTitles.com site.
• Ohio calls their title inquiry the Online Vehicle/Watercraft Title Inquiry. Full title history is provided and confidentiality is maintained by not disclosing non-business owner's names. Premier eTitleLien™ integrates this and many other state's title checks into our ELT application.

Image above is a little rock that "totally sorta looks like a map of Ohio" by Andy Woodruff. Ohio rocks!

Continue reading What is good about the Ohio ELT program

Changes Caused by Electronic Liens and Titles

Participating in a Electronic Liens and Titles (ELT) program (offered by several states) changes the way titles are managed, but not in the way most people expect. The biggest example of this is the title application (application + old title + fee + whatever other forms required by the state). Most people on hearing that an electronic title program is in place assume that the electronic title can be applied for electronically, since logically a "going digital" program means eliminating paper. Sadly, this is not the case with *any* ELT programs so far (mostly*). Title applications must still be submitted with physical owner signatures or limited power of attorney forms.

What ELT Does Not Change

• Liens are still recorded as part of vehicle collateral for loans.
• The lien is still recorded by the DMV.
• Applications for liens are still required (as mentioned above) since physical signatures are required to meet Federal odometer disclosure laws.
• Forms and processes for related actions (owner address change, vehicle reposession, mobile home de-titling, etc.) remain the same.

What ELT Changes

• Lienholders do not receive a paper title.
• Liens must be released electronically (in many ELT states).
• Titles are mailed to owners by the DMV.

Non-Obvious Improvements
I can hear you thinking now: "What good is that? That doesn't help nearly enough!" We've heard that before. This subtle change to a paperless title makes a big difference in business processes, greatly helping lenders, states, and vehicle owners. Titles cannot be misfiled. Owners who misplaced lien-released-on-the-face titles can request duplicates from the DMV. No title mail to open, no titles to mail out.

Premier eTitleLien™ Extras
Our solution allowing lenders to work with state ELT programs helps make the most of these benefits and more. Title applications are tracked until lien is perfected. Information on new electronic titles (owner name, odometer) is checked against the application for accuracy. State title inquiry services are used along with NADA or Blackbook values to verify vehicle status prior to issuing a loan. There's more at http://www.etitlelien.com.

* Ohio does allow lenders to electronically notate a lien for an existing title when no transfer of ownership occurs. Yay Ohio!

Image from Dalit Freedom Network

Continue reading Changes Caused by Electronic Liens and Titles