Champ Titles to Provide Electronic Vehicle Titling and Liens for the State of Kentucky

CLEVELAND, Ohio (September 12, 2023) – Champ Titles, Inc. announced it has signed an agreement with its strategic partner Tyler Technologies, Inc. and the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet to implement Champ Titles’ electronic solutions for vehicle titling and liens.

House Bill 284, passed during the 2022 Regular Session, creates a new section of existing law to establish electronic title and lien applications and registration systems that allow submission of required forms and fees electronically. Because of this mandate, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet needed to select software solutions for electronic vehicle titling and liens.

“We were intrigued by the reviews from our counterpart in West Virginia, where the solution is in production, and the system demonstration revealed it was capable of meeting our requirements,” said Heather Stout, Executive Director of Information Technology, Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. “We’re excited to implement a solution to make the vehicle titling and lien processes more efficient for our constituents.”

The county clerks of Kentucky currently process title and lien applications through a paper driven process and wanted more efficient processing capabilities. Champ Titles and its strategic partner, Tyler Technologies, will provide several benefits to all stakeholders in the vehicle title and lien ecosystem through this electronic transformation, including serving vehicle retailers, lending institutions, insurance carriers, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, and the residents of Kentucky. Some of the notable benefits will include:

• Reduced costs. Paperless transaction processing saves time and money for dealers, lenders, residents, and agency staff.
• Improved efficiency. It is expected that title transfer times will average less than three days once Champ Titles’ system is fully implemented. Additionally, one title clerk will be able to process at least five times as many titles as is currently done.
• Near elimination of fraud. Paper processes are prone to errors and can be easily manipulated, allowing for more opportunities to perpetrate fraud. Once digital processes have replaced transacting in paper, most forms of title fraud become impossible.
• Increased environmental benefits. By operating in a fully paperless environment, the state of Kentucky and users of the electronic titling system will be able to eliminate the use of more than 15 million pieces of paper each year. In addition, as title and lien transactions become fully digital, commutes to and from county clerk offices to submit documents are reduced, cutting greenhouse gas emissions.

“Kentucky has distinguished itself today as one of the first states in the country to truly modernize its motor vehicle title and registration process,” said Shane Bigelow, CEO of Champ Titles. “Enabling paperless, electronic capabilities to manage titles, registrations, and liens will benefit the state and its citizens. We are pleased to partner with Tyler Technologies and the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet to provide a solution that is much more secure, much faster, much cheaper, and improves the constituents’ experience.”

Champ Titles and Tyler first introduced statewide digital titling in West Virginia in 2021. Already, the digital titling program has eliminated more than 5 million pieces of paper annually, reduced the processing time from 40-60 days to a matter of hours, and increased productivity with title clerks processing five times as many titles per day.

Additionally, Champ Titles and Tyler recently introduced the National Digital Titling Clearinghouse (NDTC). The first-of-its-kind platform is open for nationwide businesses like auto retailers, insurance providers and more securely, quickly and efficiently transfer titles from any vehicle in any state through the NDTC.

“Between the NDTC and our new partnership with Kentucky, its obvious governments, businesses and citizens alike are recognizing the benefits of our digital platform,” added Bigelow. “Champ Titles is starting the second half of 2023 off strong. We are looking forward to continuing this momentum into 2024.”