2022 Winners

International and Regional

Alabama Department of Revenue Motor Vehicle Division

Title Application and Supporting Document Upload Project

The Alabama Department Revenue Motor Vehicle Division receives over 2 million title applications from designated agents each year. Agents were required to submit paper title applications and supporting documents to the department for review. An approved title application typically resulted in the issuance of a certificate in 7-10 business days. The department implemented a process to allow designated agents to electronically upload title applications and supporting documents using a batch upload process. Agents can use their existing document management systems to submit using a secure FTP process. Subsequently it became a requirement for agents to electronically upload title documents. This has resulted in significant cost savings and improvements to the process. Department processing costs have been reduced by more than $1 million annually. Mail delivery packages and lost or missing title application packages have been virtually eliminated. In most cases, certificates of title are now being issued within 3-5 business days. 

Regional

California Department of Motor Vehicles

SR-1 Automation

Prior to automation, there were two options for drivers to submit a completed SR-1 report, which is required by California Law from anyone involved in a traffic accident to report to the DMV within 10 days if there was an injury, death, or property damage in excess of $1,000, regardless of fault. One option was to mail in a PDF version of the form to the DMV. The other option was for the insurance company to submit one on their customer's behalf. In 2020, the department converted the manual process with automation. This includes providing an online portal located on the DMV website for customers to submit their completed SR-1 forms electronically. The result is convenience and efficiency for customers, a reduction in DMV staff time, and digital archiving of reports. In 14 months, the department has accrued cost savings of $224,000 and 5,000 hours in labor. The labor savings provides the opportunity for the department's workforce to focus on higher-value workload demands.

District of Columbia Department of Motor Vehicles

Online Private Sale Vehicle Registration

In 2021, DC DMV introduced a new hybrid online/mail option for DC residents to title and register a vehicle purchased through a private sale. Previously, this transaction could only be completed in person at a DMV service center. Customers can now go to the website and submit an application including payment. Once the original title is mailed and approved, the vehicle title, registration, and permanent tags are mailed to the customer overnight. This provides customers with an alternative to complete their business and particularly during the pandemic, allowed customers to avoid in-person visits. This has also resulted in fewer appointments which help the service centers operate more efficiently. Between February 1, 2021 and September 30, 2021, a total of 596 online/mail transactions were completed. DC DMV received many positive comments from customers and many expressed appreciation for the new hybrid option.

Wisconsin Department of Transportation Division of Motor Vehicles

Wisconsin eMV Public Online Title and Registration System

In 2021, Wisconsin Department of Transportation Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) launched a new feature in the eMV Public Online Title and Registration System that allows vehicle owners to initiate title only and title with registration applications for vehicles newly purchased with an out-of-state title or vehicles already titled in their name in another state (when moving to Wisconsin). Previously, eMV Public was offered only to vehicle owners who had purchased a vehicle with a current Wisconsin title. The primary objectives for this project were to expand eMV Public availability to customers with out-of-state titles and reduce DMV resources for application handling and processing. Although the enhancement project was already scheduled, this became even more essential when, in 2020, vehicle titling services were eliminated or restricted, leaving mail-in service the only option for out-of-state title transactions. Since the February 2021 implementation, an average of 4,170 customers a month have used eMV Public to initiate out-of-state title/registration transfers. More than 36,000 customers have used eMV Public for out-of-state title transfer, representing nearly a quarter of all eMV Public traffic. Each eMV Public application takes approximately 3 minutes less for handling and processing than a comparable mailed-in application, resulting in a savings of 1,820 staff hours for out-of-state titles since implementation.