Free me from the DMV with paperless titles

keys and computer

This fall, a handful of states will begin work with paperless titles systems that could make paper titles–and the endless hassles and delays associated with them–a thing of the past.

If you’re not either a teenager or just a few years removed from teenhood, there is probably a degree of uncertainty and even suspicion about the whole paperless thing. I am a little hesitant myself. But if there is one area where paperwork is so exasperating it can make you question your patience, sanity and reason for living, it’s the DMV. Heaven knows they try, but the systems are just too clunky. So in place of rational, deliberative thinking, I’ll just think of myself and say I’m on board with this.

The South Dakota DMV is heading the move that also involves Arizona, California, Delaware, Florida, Iowa, Maryland, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Vermont, Virginia and Wisconsin.

“We talk about this as an industry, and one of the biggest concerns you hear is the timeframe that it takes to get a paper title–and then signing it and sending it and everything else,” said Deb Hillmer, director of the South Dakota DMV. “So we’re really looking at how we can move that process to an electronic means, similar to how a lot of contracts are done today.”