Committee approves permissive bill allowing state to develop electronic vehicle registration and e‑titling systems

Senator Hill introduced a bill to permit the Department of Finance and Administration to implement an electronic registration and titling system, allowing dealerships to transmit purchase paperwork digitally. Greg Kirkpatrick and representatives of the Arkansas Auto Dealers Association described the measure as permissive: it would give the department the option to create a secure portal for dealerships and lienholders to reduce paper mailings and certified-mail delays that can hold up registration and title transfers.

Speakers said two documents that currently require wet signatures — the federal truth-in-mileage (TIMA 2) form and an odometer statement — would be allowed to be digitized under the bill, which advocates said would reduce lost mail and speed up processing. Kirkpatrick and dealer representatives described the proposal as the start of a multi-year effort that could eventually lead to fully digital titles, though they said digital titles are not required by this bill.

Committee members asked whether the system could work across state lines and how counties’ assessment steps would be handled; witnesses said interstate compatibility exists in part and that county coordination would be necessary to digitize assessment and tax-collection steps. No public opposition was recorded. The committee moved and passed the permissive electronic registration/titling bill on a voice vote.