CLEVELAND, August 13, 2024 -- CHAMP Titles, Inc., the leading provider of digital vehicle title, registration, and lien systems of record in the United States, announced today that it has launched the first digital vehicle title in the country in the state of West Virginia. Setting a new standard in electronic titling systems, the West Virginia Digital Title is not only digital but also fully transactable, marking a distinctive advancement that represents the future of vehicle titling. Digital Title holders will soon be able to buy, sell, and trade a vehicle quickly and accurately without having to visit a DMV office.
Fully transactable Digital Titles also allow dealers and fleet operators to better manage inventory and eliminate the need for laborious, manual matching of titles with vehicles on the lot or in their system. Digital Titles allow for real-time updates that ensure the system of record is continually kept current. Any time an attribute of the title changes – a lien is filed, a brand is added, a new owner is listed – the Digital Title is immediately updated in the system and reflected on the digital title held by the title holder (citizen, dealer, lender etc.).
CHAMP has been working with West Virginia since 2021 when the state began implementation of its Digital Title and Registration Suite (“DTRS”), a comprehensive vehicle title administration solution to manage titles, registrations, liens, and dealer licensing, going live in late 2021.
“We are so pleased to have such a bold and forward-thinking partner in the West Virginia DMV. The state’s constituent-first approach to upgrading infrastructure continues today with the Digital Title. This technology will be a gamechanger for the country, realizing the digital efficiency that CHAMP Titles set out to achieve when it was founded,” said Shane Bigelow, Chief Executive Officer.
The printed version of the West Virginia Digital Title is listed in the most current version of the J.D Power Title and Registration Textbook. Everett Frazier, Commissioner of the West Virginia DMV explains, “This is a modern and secure approach to titling, but we realized that not every jurisdiction would be immediately comfortable using a digital title, so we created the printed version of the WV Digital Title. Anyone with a Digital Title from West Virginia can print a copy of it any time they want. It is a legal, transactable physical representation of the West Virginia Digital Title, and verifiable by checking NMVTIS or West Virginia’s own verification portal which can be found on the West Virginia DMV website.”
The printed version of the WV Digital Title is a paper representation of the Digital Title, akin to a mobile boarding pass, providing a legal, transactable physical alternative. Just as boarding credentials can be presented using a mobile device, a Digital Title can be presented in the same way. But, if a physical copy is preferred, the printed version of the WV Digital Title exists for just that scenario. Digital Title holders securely authenticate themselves to the state system to access the WV Digital Title for printing. The holder can then use the printed version to conduct their transactions.
Transactions conducted outside West Virginia using either the Digital Title or the printed version of it can be easily authenticated using West Virginia's verification portal, ensuring security, useability, and reliability.
Earlier this year, CHAMP and the West Virginia DMV joined with DDI Technology (DDI), a leading automotive title management firm and a subsidiary of IAA Holdings, LLC (IAA), a leading global digital marketplace that connects vehicle buyers and sellers, to begin a nationwide pilot of the technology. DDI tested a limited number of Digital Titles and printed versions of the WV Digital Title transactions throughout the U.S., using the tools created for West Virginia to support that process.
According to Donald Murray, Regional Sales Manager at DDI, “We approached this as a hypercare pilot, during which we closely monitored and engaged with our customers to guide the Digital Title transactions through the entire process. We were pleased with the usability, verification tools and end-to-end security of the program.”
In the next phase of this launch, CHAMP and the WV DMV Commissioner's office will work to encourage jurisdictions nationwide to recognize and accept Digital Title transactions.
