Dear Valued Partner,

Time flies when you’re having fun — is it really December already?! 

Throughout this past year of growth, all of us here at Vitu remained committed to what matters most: delivering the unmatched service, support and solutions you count on day in and day out. With your continued support, we have also advanced meaningful innovation and supported important regulatory progress across the industry, helping move all of us toward a more modern and connected future.

As we reflect on the past year and look ahead to 2026 and beyond, we want to extend our sincere gratitude for your continued partnership. Your trust drives everything we do, and we will never take it lightly.

Here’s to the progress we’ve made together, and an even more impactful year ahead.

From all of us, a heartfelt Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!

As a small token of our gratitude, we’re sharing a very special 2025 holiday story, Title Town and the Winter Wipeout! — a lighthearted read to bring you a smile as we enter the new year. Just click the link below to check it out!

District of Columbia — clarification affecting the Title Services Group (TSG)

On October 1, 2025, Vitu was notified that D.C.'s mayor had signed legislation that increased the title and registration fees for several transactions, effective immediately. Vitu made the appropriate changes, but has since received several rejections due to sending checks for higher amounts.

The Government Affairs Team (SGA) received clarification stating that although the mayor did sign this legislation, it must still undergo the congressional review process, which has not yet been completed. Once that process is finalized, DMV will share the official update with us. 

Note: In the meantime, we have reverted to the previous fee table until notified otherwise.

TMS Idaho ELT Program — important state notification

Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) has announced the upcoming change to the implementation of the ELT program, which is currently voluntary). Mandatory ELT participation will be required for any lienholders who currently hold 50 or more active liens on vehicles. 

If you have not yet enrolled in the Idaho ELT program and would like to do so, please email the Vitu Client Advocate Team; their contact information is below.

Note: VINtek lenders can enroll for Idaho ELT program during the upgrade.

The details of the Idaho ELT program are outlined below:

TMS supports the following transaction types

• New/Update Lien Notification
• Lien Removal
• Lien Release
• Reject Lien
• Convert ELT title to paper 
  
  • Idaho will allow alternate mailing address
• Title Maintenance

Near real time/API transaction processing

• All transactions are processed with the state in near real time via Application Programming Interface (API)
• Requests will be processed in near real time or within 30 minutes of request via Graphic User Interphase (GUI) or immediately upon import of requests from batch import processing

Second lienholder listed

• The state only sends an ELT record to the primary lienholder
• If a second lien is requested to be added, the primary lienholder must surrender the title, after which ID will issue a new title reflecting both lienholders to the primary lienholder
• At time of release, the state removes the primary lien. If additional lienholders exist on the title record, an ELT title will be sent to the remaining lienholder listed on the title record

Release processing

• At time of Release of Lien (release to registered owner or release to third party), if there are no additional lienholders listed on the title record, the state will release the lien and print the lien-free paper title and mail to the party specified
• For Release to Third Party (LO), if initiated manually (via GUI) and the new lienholder is an ELT participant, there is an option to select the new lienholder ELT ID and Idaho will issue the new title with the new lienholder and send electronically. This option is not available for release transactions sent via file

ELT Program pass-through fees 

• Currently there are not any ELT pass-through fees associated

Reach out for any questions

Should you have questions or require clarification, please contact Vitu Client Advocate Team via email at CMS-Service@Vitu.com or phone 866-730-7805.

TMS Illinois ELT Program — important state notification

Illinois has passed legislation to update their current voluntary ELT program to mandatory for any lienholders who add more than five vehicle liens per year. 

If you have not yet enrolled in the Illinois ELT program and would like to do so, please email the Vitu Client Advocate Team; you can find their contact information below.

Note: VINtek lenders will have access to these additional transactions once they have completed the upgrade.

Details of the IL ELT program are outlined below:

TMS supports the following transaction types

• New/Update Lien Notification
• Lien Removal
• Lien Release
• Convert ELT title to paper
  
  • Mailing address is the lienholder address associated with the ELT code; no alternate “mail to” address is permitted
• Title Maintenance

Near real time/API transaction processing

• All transactions are processed with the state in near real time via Application Programming Interface (API)
• Requests will be processed in near real time or within 30 minutes of request via Graphic User Interphase (GUI), or immediately upon import of requests from batch import processing

Second lienholder listed

• The state only sends an ELT record to the primary lienholder
• The primary lienholder will receive an updated ELT record if an additional lienholder is added to the title record
• At time of release, the state removes the primary lien. If additional lienholders exist on the title record, an ELT title will be sent to the remaining lienholder listed on the title record.

Release processing 

• At time of Release of Lien (release to registered owner or release to third party), if there are no additional lienholders listed on the title record, the state will release the lien, print the lien-free paper title and mail to the party specified
• For release to registered owner, if no address is listed in the release transaction, the state will mail to the registered owner’s address as listed in their system

ELT Program pass-through fees 

• All transactions will result in a $2.25 pass-through fee
  
  • The Lien Notification, Lien Perfection/Acknowledgment, Lien Release and Request for Paper Title transaction fees will be billed at time of title notification — a total of $6.75
• If applicable, the following transactions will be billed at time of transaction processing, resulting in a $2.25 pass-through fee:
  
  • Convert eLien to Paper Title
  • Convert eLien to Paper Title and mail to a third party
  • Lienholder Title Inquiry
  • Lien Add

Reach out for any questions

Should you have questions or require clarification, please contact Vitu Client Advocate Team via email at CMS-Service@Vitu.com or phone 866-730-7805.

TMS Maine ELT pass-through fees effective January 1, 2026

Maine has passed legislation during this legislative session (2025), Bill LD 850, to apply pass-through fees to ELT transactions as outlined below. These fees will be effective for transactions beginning January 1, 2026.

Current ELT Program Pass-through Fees

Currently there are not any state pass-through fees.

ELT Program Pass-through Fees effective 1/1/2026

State pass-through fees will expand to add a $1.00 fee for each transaction(s) outlined below:

• New Title
• Lienholder Release Lien
• Lienholder Release Lien and Add to Address or Change Address 
• Print Repo Title
• Print Title Owner out of State

Reach out for any questions

Should you have questions or require clarification, please contact Vitu Client Advocate Team via email at CMS-Service@Vitu.com or phone 866-730-7805.

Note: VINtek lenders will have access to enroll in Maine ELT program once they have completed the upgrade.

Reminder: South Dakota’s Pennington County office has moved

The Pennington County office moved effective September 2, 2025. For all transactions sent to State for Pennington County, this is a reminder that the new address is:

Pennington County Administration
900 Concourse Drive
Rapid City, SD 57703

Texas title and registration manuals are updated

Affecting all Texas transactions, Texas has updated their Title Manual and Registration Manual. Nothing pertinent has been added that will affect the Vitu CMS process, but we wanted to provide you with these updated links to the manuals for your records:

• Title Manual (Rev. Oct. 2025)
• Registration Manual (Rev. Oct. 2025)

Below is a summary of the latest updated state title and registration forms from Wisconsin and Montana.

Affects the Release Services Group (RSG)

In the eStorefront used by the National Vessel Documentation Center (NVDC), it has been determined that Vitu could potentially release Preferred Ship Mortgages (PSM) for multiple clients under one account. 

Because the eStorefront allows for multiple banks to be managed under one profile, the most effective way to differentiate them is to use the Profile Type of Agent/Corporate Representative. 

Note: If there are multiple individuals that will be submitting documents, each one must create a profile with a separate email address. 

In addition, we are currently working to gather required fields for a PSM release in order to ensure information available at the time of onboarding new clients. The fields required to release a PSM can be found in section 7. Satisfaction, Release of Mortgage or Lien of the eStorefront User Guide on pages 105-117.

Welcome back Warriors! This is the finale of our series all about YOU.

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'Tis the Season… of YOU!

December, sweet December... not that long ago, you seemed so far away, yet here you are, rushing in with a fierce velocity that takes us all by surprise! Wow! How did this happen? Okay, let's focus here. December is a time to celebrate the holidays. Things went sideways once Halloween hit, admit it! This month is moving too fast! Like a sled going downhill, we are picking up speed as we head towards the end of the month, and the end of our year together. So let's take a moment and just enjoy this day, this moment.

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Calm in the chaos

As we prepare for the holidays and stock up on sparkling apple cider for the new year, take a few moments to enjoy the peace and calm and joy of the season. I know, I know, you don't have time to relax… work is calling, home chores are calling, your Aunt Sally is calling… it's going to be okay.

• Enjoy your surroundings — Slow down for just a few minutes, and look around you. There are beautiful jewel tone colors EVERYWHERE! As you walk or drive through your neighborhood, you see so many lights! Wreaths adorn people's front doors, you see them in shop windows. Some businesses have beautiful winter-themed artwork painted on their windows or brightly lit trees in view as you walk down the sidewalks or drive by. Holiday music is playing in the malls, and of course Santa's Workshop is working at full speed, kind of like you are! My hope for all of you is that you take some time to just wander and enjoy the many sights and sounds of this season.
• Take a breather — There’s a lot going on in the month. Work parties, Secret Santa gifts, ornament exchanges, parties at your kids’ schools, special meals — it can all get overwhelming and take the “happy” out of happy holidays. Before that happens, take a deep breath. Stretch. A nice stretch will do wonders to loosen up those muscles that just tightened up thinking about everything that you have to do. Chill out, it is going to be okay. These are all little moments that make lasting memories. Enjoy them while they’re here.
• Sweets and a show — Okay, now let's get down to the nitty gritty! Who has watched at least one Hallmark movie? I can’t be the only one! There are so many holiday movies out now; it is so fun to see old movies that you've grown up with along with new favorites! It is simply the BEST time of year! And the holiday treats too! How many of you have taken some time and enjoyed a nice peppermint hot chocolate? Perhaps a little eggnog and a cookie? It’s the best time of the year to treat yourself, so grab a movie, grab some treats, and relax.

December is a month of madness, of complete chaos, of happiness, of joy, of family, of friends, and is a time to make memories. It is also a time of giving, of love, of hope, and of faith. Let's bring ourselves back to some calm amidst the chaos of this month.    

Remember Warriors, you are stronger than you think — you are capable, you are amazing, and you can do this! Life is more about experiences and special moments than it is about ‘things’. Things are great, but memories are better. Enjoy every moment of every day. And remind yourself daily how truly awesome and blessed you are.

As 2025 draws to a close, look back at all of the months of YOU. 2025 has been a journey all about YOU, and how incredibly awesome you are! 2026 is right around the corner — I wonder what it will bring? 😉

Happy Holidays, Warriors! Here's to an amazing 2026! ☃️🎄🧑‍🎄🎉🥂