| Date: |
January 19, 2007 |
| To: |
All County Tax Assessor-Collectors |
| Subject: |
Discontinuation of the Returned Title Processing Program |
These documents contain text of correspondence sent by
TxDOT to the county tax assessor-collectors, statutory agents who provide
vehicle registration and titling services for citizens in Texas. This
information is provided to apprise the general public of issues affecting the
state’s vehicle titling and registration process.
PURPOSE
To advise you of the discontinuation of the Returned Title
Processing Program.
DETAILS
Effective February 2, 2007, the Vehicle Titles and Registration (VTR)
Division will no longer maintain a suspense file of Original Texas Certificates
of Title that have been returned to the department by the post office as
undeliverable. All returned titles received on or after that date will be
destroyed as they are received.
With the elimination of this program the owner or lienholder will still have
the option of applying for a Certified Copy Original (CCO) title at the nearest
VTR Regional Office for $5.45, or mailing the CCO application, Form VTR-34,
along with all applicable supporting documents, for $2.00.
The Returned Title Processing Program was implemented in an attempt to
quickly provide returned Original Texas Certificates of Title upon inquiry by
the legal owner. Currently, we are receiving an average of about 4100 returned
titles a month and are only forwarding an average of about 460 a month (about an
11% return rate). The remaining titles are destroyed after a six-month retention
period. The low return rate and the volume of returned titles that must be
maintained does not support the administrative cost of the program.
The most common reasons for the returned titles are:
- Owner moved prior to receiving the title
- Insufficient address
- Incorrect address entered at the point of sale
COUNTY ACTION
Please advise all title applicants to verify that their name and address as
printed on the Title Application Receipt (VTR-RTS-500) is correct prior to
leaving the counter.
CONTACT
If you have any questions or need any additional information,
please contact your local Vehicle Titles and Registration
Division Regional Office. In some cases the Registration and Title Bulletins (RTB) contain attachments. If you
require a copy of the original signed RTB and the attachments, please
e-mail us and include the RTB number.
Repeat requests are subject to charges in accordance with Open Record
policies. A subscription service is also available for an annual fee of
$250. Subscribers will automatically receive all RTB mailings as they
are issued. |
