Message from the Executive Director | May 2017

For those of you that were on the receiving end of all the emails and videos that came from my office in March and April, you know all about the battle we fought at the Capitol. What a session! All the years I’ve been going to the Capitol fighting these battles on your behalf, never have I experienced politics at its core, with so many agendas going on at once. It’s an amazing process, and it’s the American way of getting it done! I wouldn’t change it or trade it for any other way of getting the peoples voice heard.

I can tell you one thing for sure… GIADA garnered a great deal of respect from countless law makers from both sides of the aisle. Our Government Affairs Team was on top of their game for sure. It goes to show there really is a benefit to relationships and who you know. Nobody could have predicted the outcome of HB340 would end up in our favor, but fortunately it did. I truly believe that in politics, to get what you want, you must NEVER give up.

All of this legislative talk brings us to what I really wanted to talk about in this article – the outcome of HB-412. Specifically, SECTION 5, lines 62-64. Said title is further amended in Code Section 40-3-33, relating to transfer of vehicle to or from dealer and records to be kept by dealers, by adding a new subsection to read as follows: On and after January 1, 2018, all applications for certificate of title by a motor vehicle dealer shall be submitted to the department electronically. The department may adopt rules and regulations to administer this subsection. 

Yep, I think you know what this all means. The state has decided that they are in favor of the ETR processing system which has always been optional. After over three years of processing electronic titles, they have decided to move forward and pass legislation mandating the ETR process. Effective date is January 1, 2018.

What does this mean to you? Well, if you are one the hundreds of independent car dealers already signed up and using the ETR system, you need not change a thing. However, if you are among the few thousand dealers who have not converted over to ETR yet, then you need to get with GIADA soon so we can walk you through the details of getting started with our partners at TitleTec|AutoPoint!

It’s a seamless and simple transition. You are already using the GIADA TOPs portal, which will make the TitleTec ETR system to look ever so familiar and give you a sense of ease with this conversion. Once you sign up for ETR, TitleTec staff can get an account all set up for you.

Through this system, you’ll see ease and benefits in many aspects of your regular titling process. As you finalize your future transactions, the TAVT tax will be electronically delivered via ACH from your bank account to the County Tag Office in the County where your customer lives as well as registration fees that will be sent to the state – no more checks! The biggest change happens to also be the best part of changing to ETR: No more trips to county tag offices! No more mailing titles to county tag offices and hoping for the best!

After you enter the information on your end, you will send the title and supporting paperwork to an approved TitleTec imaging and QA location, which just so happens to be the GIADA office. GIADA Services staff will check your paperwork to ensure accuracy and notify you of necessary corrections to keep the process quick and efficient!  From there, images are sent to the state and the processing will result in an Electronic Title which will then be printed and sent to the customer! Deals which have Lienholders stay Electronic Titles until the Lienholder notifies the state the lien has been satisfied. This will then allow the title to be printed and sent to the customer.

This process will alleviate some pretty common frustrations for dealers and customers alike. Get started on removing the stress from your title processing and let us help you transition from old fashioned to new age! It will all be mandatory as of January 01, 2018 but don’t wait until the last minute to take advantage of Electronic Title Registration.

If you would like more information on ETR and/or getting signed up through TitleTec|AutoPoint – just visit our website for FAQ’s and print your application to get set up!