Kansas Department of Revenue outlines e‑lien vehicle‑titling system, cites adoption and staffing hurdles

Rhonda Banks, a system analyst with the Kansas Department of Revenue (KDOR) Division of Vehicles, told the Senate Committee on Government Efficiency that Kansas moved to electronic titling for vehicles with liens on Jan. 1, 2003, following a 2002 House bill.

Banks described the KDOR web application for lien filings and releases (referred to in the presentation as the eLien system or “Elean”), which allows dealers and financial institutions to file notices of security interest (NOSI) online and pay a $2.50 transaction fee. KDOR staff said the e‑title process creates a single paper title for owners after lien release and reduces duplicate paper titles and fraud risks tied to title‑loan scenarios where older paper titles were not always presented.

Banks told the committee the eLien system offers customer benefits such as eliminating the need to print and mail a paper title at the time a lien is filed, and printing a paper title only after lien release. She outlined the typical title process when a lienholder is involved: seller and buyer sign the ownership document, the lienholder or dealer files a NOSI (by mail using form TR‑730 or online via KDOR’s system), the buyer applies for title and registration at the county treasurer within 60 days, and an electronic title record is created if a lien is present.

KDOR staff told the committee that lienholders have a 30‑day window after purchase to file a NOSI and that county offices and KDOR allow up to 30 days for a lien to be filed before printing a paper title. If no lien is filed within 35 days, KDOR prints and mails a paper title without a lien.

On costs and operations, Banks provided figures the division tracks: KDOR reported 11 staff handling lien releases, duplicate titles and new titles, with staff time at roughly four hours per day devoted to title work and an average salary stated as about $24 per hour. Annual vendor and printing costs cited included approximately $116,500 for title stock and about $369,750 for state printing of paper titles. KDOR said a lien‑released paper title may be issued at no charge to the public through county partners or the eLien system; dealer/title‑service transactions and on‑demand printed titles carry separate fees.

Committee members asked whether lenders are required to use the e‑filing system. Banks said participation is voluntary and that nonparticipation — lenders faxing or emailing lien releases instead of filing online — creates manual work for KDOR staff and slows the process. She said KDOR had explored a vendor solution that would make e‑filing more mandatory but that the project was put on hold; she said the vendor proposal would not have required additional KDOR funding under the contract that had been considered.

Committee members recommended KDOR research other states’ mandatory e‑filing practices and report back with examples and fiscal implications. KDOR emphasized that increasing lender adoption and improving the lien‑release workflow are the primary opportunities for operational improvement identified in the presentation.

Ending: KDOR provided fee and operational detail to the committee and offered to follow up with additional research on other states’ mandatory e‑filing models and vendor costs; committee members asked staff to request those comparative examples for the upcoming legislative session.