Title 46.2. Motor Vehicles
Chapter 6. Titling and Registration of Motor Vehicles
§ 46.2-603.1. Electronic titling and registration program.
A. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, the Department may establish an electronic titling program for any motor vehicle. Participants in the electronic titling program shall submit electronic applications for original motor vehicle titles in a form and format prescribed by the Department. Participants must provide all documentation or information required by the Department to process the electronic title application, including information from a manufacturer's certificate of origin or certificate of ownership and any information required by the Department in accordance with § 46.2-623. The records of a nationally recognized motor vehicle title database may be searched prior to transfer of vehicle ownership. The Department may impose a reasonable service fee in accordance with fair market prices for the use of digital signature services as part of this program. Such fees shall be used to defray the costs of the transaction to the Department. Any transaction fees imposed and collected by the Department shall be paid into the state treasury and set aside as a special fund to be used to meet the expenses of the Department. Upon receipt of a completed electronic application, the Department shall refrain from issuing a certificate of title in paper form and, instead, shall create only the electronic record of such title to be retained by the Department in its existing electronic title record system with a notation that no certificate of title has been printed on paper. The owner of a motor vehicle will be deemed to have obtained and the Department will be deemed to have issued a certificate of title when such title record has been created electronically as provided in this section. An owner listed on a title record so created may at any time request and the Department shall provide a paper certificate of title for the vehicle.
B. Upon receipt of a completed electronic application, the Department shall permit the online registration of a motor vehicle by participants, and is hereby authorized to issue a temporary certificate of registration to participants. The temporary certificate of registration issued by the Department to participants shall expire when the permanent license plates have been affixed to the motor vehicle, but in no event shall any temporary certificate of registration issued under this section be effective for more than 30 days from the date of its issuance.
