This week, Gov. Jim Justice announced that in the first quarter of 2023, West Virginia will become the first state in the country to digitize vehicle titles and the process to acquire vehicle registrations.
West Virginia’s current services will be expanded to facilitate a fully digital process, enabling online, mobile, and contactless services for vehicle retailers, lenders, insurance carriers, and West Virginians through the DMV’s online portal.
West Virginians will be able to access and keep their vehicle title online or on their smartphone, much like an airline boarding pass. The portal will allow West Virginians to conduct all title and registration related transactions remotely, a first in the United States. This will all be accomplished using a solution provided by NIC West Virginia and Champ Titles, Inc.
“Improving West Virginian’s experience at the DMV has been a priority of mine throughout my administration,” Gov. Justice said. “I am proud of the services our DMV has developed during my tenure and really excited to adopt a digital solution like this, one that really revolutionizes the process of vehicle titling for West Virginians.”
“It is more secure, much faster, good for the environment, and it puts our citizens first, getting them out of line at the DMV. Once again, we have demonstrated that our state is a first mover, at the forefront of technology, and the result is wildly improved efficiency for our citizens and our state.”
This modernization to the DMV aims to end long processing times while reducing costs and errors. The new system will simplify title management and distribution.
To reshape how stakeholders interact in the process, NIC and Champ Titles are changing the way that vehicle titles are created, managed, and transferred in West Virginia. Existing, tried and true DMV services used by citizens, dealers, and businesses are being enhanced to work with a completely modernized management system, the Champ Titles Digital Title and Registration Suite (“DTRS”). DTRS is a comprehensive vehicle title administration solution to manage titles, registrations, liens, and dealer licensing.
“We are proud to be the first state to allow this transformational technology to be a reality for all members of our community,” said Everett Frazier,
Commissioner of West Virginia’s Division of Motor Vehicles. “We believe that fully digital vehicle titling will offer significant benefits for our auto dealers, lenders, insurance companies, all of their service providers, and most importantly, our citizens.”
Among the benefits, it is estimated that the DMV’s new process will reduce the number of pieces of paper currently used by 4,000,000 per year, the days vehicles sit in salvage yards waiting on titles by 1,000,000, and significantly reduce the time that West Virginians need to spend in DMV offices processing title and registration related transactions.
Information regarding the exciting changes that are coming, and what citizens can expect, will be shared, as available, through press releases and on the DMV website.
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