NASHVILLE, TENN. (WTVF) — Transferring a car title can be tricky. Just ask Adam Battershell, who moved to Nashville from New York and has a car from Texas.
"I don’t have my license here yet, so I had to show proof of residency which was my lease agreement, electricity bill, pay stub," he listed off several documents he brought to the Davidson County Clerk's office with him, just in case. "It was quite the process, but I looked online."
"In the world of digitization we live in today where almost everything is digitized, to transfer ownership of a vehicle with a piece of paper is fundamentally flawed and inefficient," said CEO of Cario Nathan Hecht.
Cario is a 25-person company out of New York that wants to make the process of transferring titles easier.
Its platform uses public and private blockchains to digitize and verify titles to allow a smooth, online transfer when you move or sell your car.
"It will literally happen in minutes versus days or weeks," Hecht said.
The Tennessee Department of Revenue says it is researching the idea of digital titles, looking at other states currently piloting programs. Some are using blockchains, some are not.
"It's easier, it’s quicker, having everything online for customers you don’t have to worry about having that piece of paper," said TN Dept. of Revenue spokesperson Kelly Cortesi. "We don’t want transactions surrounding vehicle titles to be a hassle."
Tennessee is participating in the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators' working group on electronic titling. AAMVA says the concept of eliminating paper in vehicle titling has been a focus since the early 1990s. It cites factors to demonstrate the need for e-titling, including making things more convenient and potentially decreasing fraud.
Cortesi says it would help with one of their biggest requests. Around 205,000 Tennesseans requested a duplicate title in the last fiscal year.
"It’s a piece of paper that people can lose," she explained.
Hecht says Cario will announce pilot programs with around a dozen states early next year. Tennessee isn't one of them, but he says he hopes they sign on in the future in order to combat a myriad of inconveniences.
"For example lets say mom, God forbid, passes away, and she leaves you her vehicle. You have no idea where her title is. Now you have to go prove that you actually own it, get a new title, then go sell it, then go through the whole process again," he said.
He acknowledges getting large, state departments to make the switch can be a challenge.
"What we're up against – there's a bit of bureaucracy," he said. "But the enthusiasm for this change is definitely there."
And he says the platform will offer the ultimate layer of security, using both private blockchain Corda and public blockchain Ethereum.
"The maximum possible security from verification of the individuals, to verification of the paper titles as we turn those into digital assets," he said, "if you trust your online bank, you will trust us."
Adam did his research and had all his paperwork in hand, so it wasn't too painful to transfer his title in North Nashville. And he liked that there was someone he could talk to, in order to ask questions. But he sees the benefit of going electronic.
"With technology nowadays it could certainly speed up the process. Even though it wasn’t too long, it could be nice."
The Dept. of Revenue says there is currently no timeline in place for any change regarding vehicle titles. And that staff are in the very initial research stage right now.
