We are excited to announce a new enhancement to Vitu Interstate that will improve your accuracy when entering exemption and reciprocity details. Under the Sale Info section of Vitu Interstate, you’ll now find exemption options and reciprocity-related questions. Here you’ll be able to provide the necessary details and documentation upfront, streamlining your quoting process.

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What’s Changing?

Under the Sale Info section, you’ll now see the following questions:

Applying for an exemption?

• Selecting Yes provides a list of state-specific exemptions such as, “Military exemption for Georgia”
• When you view or download the merged documents, look for  information detailing the selected exemptions
  

Is reciprocity being claimed?

• Selecting Yes prompts a new field asking for the tax amount being claimed, where you enter the amount of tax paid to the selling state
• Supporting documentation showing proof of payment to the selling state is required
• The reciprocity amount field is built “smart,” so that if you try to claim more than a state will allow, you will see it reduced on the fee quote

Covered states

• Georgia 
• North Carolina
• Montana
• District of Columbia
• New Jersey
• Pennsylvania

Up-next states

• Maryland
• Michigan

You’ll continue to see changes roll out over the next few months as we update more states.

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Fee Quote line items

These enhancements are also reflected in the fee quote, where exemption and reciprocity amounts now appear as separate line items. This is important because we cannot guarantee that every state's department will accept the provided supporting documentation.

Important Note: These exemptions and reciprocity claims are subject to state acceptance. If the submitted documentation is not approved, the full fee will apply.

For example, if the fee quote shows a total of $4,636.00 and a reciprocity amount is entered, this amount will be subtracted from the total only if accepted by the state. If not, the entire amount will be due.

Vitu is approved for online processing with the State of Connecticut, and you'll now notice a new form on our checklist — Form K180. Also known as the Electronic Issuance of Motor Vehicle Registration and Titling Agreement, Form K180 allows Vitu to process this transaction online, making our processing times even faster.

Please note: Form K180 must be wet-signed by the registrant/lessee, and it cannot be e-signed or signed by Power of Attorney (POA).

Here are a few Massachusetts-specific reminders to keep in mind.

Vehicles registered to a business

Vehicle registration cannot take place until these items are completed:

• Vehicles registered to a business in Massachusetts need to provide proof that their business FEIN is valid within two (2) years of registering the vehicle. 
• The business also must be registered with the Office of the Massachusetts SOS (Secretary of State) and obtain a 147C letter from the IRS. 
• Once the business has the 147C letter, they must also contact the Massachusetts RMV (Registry of Motor Vehicles) FID (Federal ID) Dept at 857-368-8055 to register the business with the RMV.

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RTA Title Application

The RTA (Registration and Title Application) for Massachusetts must either be fully typed, except for the insurance stamp and signatures, or fully hand-written. However, the document cannot be a combination of typed and hand-written. 

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Plate transfers

On a plate transfer, if transferring registration or requesting trade credit on a trade-in AND the vehicle has two owners but the new vehicle will only have one owner, a plate release letter is required from the owner not being listed on the new vehicle. The MVU-26 Affidavit is listed on the checklist with a description as in the image below.

Delaware — POAs must appoint an individual.

POAs must appoint an individual. Dealership and business names are not accepted. The entire form must be handwritten OR printed. A pre-populated form is provided for your convenience. No corrections are accepted and notarization is required. 

Note: The State of Delaware will NOT accept this form if the notary state ‘Delaware' is crossed out. Please fill in the notary county, and leave the state as is. POAs are only valid for 365 days. The POA requirements also apply to any secure POAs provided. 

Georgia — Submit to GEICS less than 30 days before the processing date.

To ensure a registration is issued, the insurance company must submit the vehicle insurance information into the Georgia Electronic Insurance Compliance System (GEICS) database no more than 30 days prior to the DOR’s (Department of Revenue) processing date and must provide valid proof of insurance with an issuance date (not effective date) no more than 5 days prior to Sending to Service. 

Note: After 30 days from the original upload, the insurance information drops from the GEICS when the vehicle is new (MCO) or not currently titled in Georgia. The insurance information should be re-uploaded into GEICS by the buyer’s insurance company to ensure the DOR issues a registration instead of a Title Only. If the county processes as a Title Only, it is the buyer's responsibility to provide proof of insurance to the DOR in order to receive their plates.

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Indiana — Illinois secured POA needs notarization.

Indiana no longer accepts the Illinois Secured Power of Attorney (SPOA) without notarization. Instead, we suggest notarizing the document in the section where the signatures are applied.

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Maine — License plate transfer. 

The State of Maine is in the process of changing out all of their regular passenger plates from the Chickadee plate to a Pine Tree or Plain plate. If your registrant is looking to 'transfer' their plate, they will be provided with a new plate but can keep their existing plate number. The processing cost is an additional $25 and the license plate reservation form would need to be completed and submitted with the documentation. For more information see the following link at the BMV website.

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Texas — E-sign must be indicated.

Electronically signed documents are acceptable for non-secure forms, but only if the document itself clearly indicates that it has been electronically signed. Please note that in the State of Texas, an audit trail alone is not sufficient — there must be a visible acknowledgment on the document identifying it as electronically signed.

Welcome back! This is the last of a five-part series all about YOU.

Have you ever thought of taking a 24-hour mini-vacation?

Taking a day off, 24 little hours, is a real refresher! Go to a hotel an hour or two away and just relax! Order room service, if they offer it. Or go out to eat somewhere that you always wanted to try but never have. Somewhere close to home and work, but far enough away that you feel some peace. If you have little ones, this is the time where they can build a blanket fort! It really isn't that hard to do. And, you only use up one vacation day! Read a book! Relax and unwind. Sleep. Explore. 

Spring is a time of growth and renewal. Growth is good. Growth can also be hard. We often say we are buried. Seeds are buried. They fight to the surface and grow, just like you do. You have all grown so much! Plant some seeds of kindness. 

Speaking of kindness, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your feedback about these articles. It has been a pleasure and an honor to celebrate YOU! And here is a special shout out to someone we will call "Hitch." She and her family have added a new addition to their family recently — a little fur baby named Oreo McFurry. 

Now get out there! This is the year of YOU! Enjoy it, warriors!!! 😊And, you never know — maybe they'll let me sneak back in here once in a while and we can continue our Year of YOU!