Texas ELT Deadlines for 2013

The next deadline to apply to participate in the Texas ELT program is one week away. Lenders need to complete the State of Texas DMV Electronic Lien and Title Program Service Level Agreement available from our website at http://www.etitlelien.com/texas.

The Texas DMV only enrolls lenders once a quarter. To begin participating in September 2013, the SLA must be submitted by Thursday, August 1, 2013.

The last deadline to begin participating in 2013 is November 1, 2013. Lenders who submit applications by that date will become active in the program on November 30, 2013.

Image above is of the Texas Star from the Texas House of Representatives site.

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Texas ELT Stakeholders Meeting

On July 8 we were privileged to participate in an ELT Stakeholders Meeting about proposed changes desired by the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles to the ELT program. We represented our customers and were joined by other ELT service providers, the Texas Bankers Association, the Texas Automobile Dealers Association and Texas Independent Automobile Dealers Association, and the Texas Credit Union Associates (part of Cornerstone Credit Union League).

The focus of the event was to present their overall goal of keeping titles electronic. Currently, the TX DMV supports electronic titles both through the ELT (Electronic Liens and Titles) program and titles for vehicles without liens. The DMV would like to further promote electronic titles and wanted to hear concerns from stakeholders.

• What business situations still require a paper title?
• What incentives can be provided to encourage titles to remain electronic? The DMV is considering imposing a fee for paper titles or requiring participation in the ELT program.
• What other issues need to be addressed to make an all electronic title system successful?

The DMV's goals for electronic titles were generally well received. We appreciated the involvement of representatives from lenders and dealers at this stage of their planning and look forward to working further with Texas and serving our customers with Texas titles.

Image above is The Road to Sundown by Lindy C Severns from the blog Wanderings of An Artist In Far West Texas.

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Texas ELT: Common Questions

Texas DMV has indicated that at some point in the future they will compel participation in their ELT program. The legislation enabling this future mandatory ELT program was signed into law on 6/17/2011. This has resulted in renewed interest in the Texas ELT program. Some common questions:

Are lenders required to participate in the Texas ELT program?

DDI is following the progress of the ELT program in Texas carefully. Texas has provided clarification to us about requiring participation in their ELT program. One such conversation included these comments: "Although the department fully supports the ELT program we do not anticipate implementing mandatory ELT in the near future. I anticipate it will be quite some time before we even begin discussing this project. When we do begin the process we intend on meeting with industry partners to identify any entities and/or transactions that should be considered for exemption." They have not yet set a date for mandatory participation.

Can a title be released and sent to an address other than the owner's address?

Yes, in Premier eTitleLien™ an address can be changed so that when the title is requested to be printed, it will be mailed to the correct payoff address, such as a dealer, lender or insurance company.

How long with title information be available through the ELT system?

The completed title application will be able to be viewed/edited in your system perpetually or as long as your license agreement with DDI is in effect. All information about a title including information received from the Texas DMV and entered by your company's users will be retained for your future reference.

How long does it take for us to receive ELT information? For example, our customer books a loan here and a few days later we receive a payoff check from a dealership. Now the dealership is requesting the title that we just processed. The TX DMV is not showing our lien has been perfected yet because the process has not completed through the state yet. When should we expect to receive the title so that it can be released?

The county courthouse offices are working as agents of the DMV, so they are using the Texas DMV system to process title paperwork, and thus there is no communications lag. The electronic title, therefore, will appear in your Premier eTitleLien™ system the day after the courthouse processes the paperwork. If you book a loan on 3/1, and the courthouse processes the paperwork on 3/2, you will receive the ELT in your system on 3/3. If you receive certified funds from a dealer on 3/3, you can log into to your ELT system on 3/3 and direct the DMV to release your lien and have the clear title mailed to the dealer. The dealer should receive the clear title in the US mail in 3-5 business days.

Image above is "The afternoon in Austin Texas after some rain" by Jeffrey Spencer.

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States Planning to Compel Participation in ELT

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, Upcoming Electronic Title States, States Compelling Participation in ELT, and States Planning to Compel Participation in ELT (this post).

Which states have said they intend to compel participation?

• Florida
• Massachusetts
• South Carolina
• South Dakota
• Texas

Florida has indicated to us in person as well as through legislation that their long-term plan has been to require participation. See a further explanation on States Compelling Participation in ELT post.

Although the MA RMV has indicated to us that they do not have plans to make their ELT program mandatory, the Massachusetts legislature has (at least twice) introduced legislation requiring participation.

South Carolina has had legislation introduced twice to allow the DMV to require participation. The South Carolina DMV has indicated that it intends to make the program mandatory only after developing a plan with industry stakeholders.

In our discussions with South Dakota about their new (2012) ELT program, they mentioned that their plans are to make the SD ELT program mandatory from the beginning using a no-printed-titles-with-liens policy.

Texas passed legislation in 2011 that allows the DMV to make the program mandatory. They have indicated to us in person that they intend to gather feedback from industry partners before implementing any requirements.

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 from Kazoobie Kazoos.

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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.

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Texas Considering Mandatory ELT

Legislation has been introduced into the Texas Legislature that would allow the DMV to mandate participation in the Texas ELT (Electronic Liens and Titles) program. It unanimously passed committee and its next step is a vote by the Texas House of Representatives. From the Committee Report:

The Texas Department of Motor Vehicles (TxDMV) has developed an electronic system for perfecting, assigning, discharging, and canceling security interests in motor vehicle titles. Participation by a lienholder in the system is voluntary. Interested parties report that the electronic lien system is running well and uses a competitive mix of vendors that lienholders use as electronic intermediaries with the system. However, it is also noted that only a fraction of the total transactions that could be performed each year are executed through the system. C.S.H.B. 2575 seeks to reduce costs and improve the titling process by authorizing TxDMV to require participation by a lienholder in the electronic lien system.

Texas implemented their ELT program in 2009.

Image above promotes electronic books offered by the Texas Ranger Research Center.

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