NOTE: Today’s blog, includes a version in Spanish at the bottom of this webpage.

By Lourdes Lerma / ADOT Communications

Did you know that if you sell a vehicle you are liable for it until the new owner transfers ownership at a MVD or Third Party Provider?

Imagine this:

You sold, donated or traded in your vehicle. The new owner promises you he/she will transfer the title into his/her name first thing in the morning, and you agreed.

Well, title was never transferred into the new owner’s name; perhaps the vehicle was abandoned, involved in a crash or used to commit a crime. Weeks pass, and because you are still the owner of record you receive an Abandoned Vehicle Notification from MVD stating that you owe $500 or $600 for in abandoned vehicle fees and you won’t be able to conduct any transactions with the MVD until the issue is resolved.

The easy way to avoid this scenario is to immediately complete a Sold Notice at AZMVDNow.gov as soon as you transfer ownership of a vehicle. It's free, and it's the law.

Learn more about this topic at www.azdot.gov/mvd/vehicleservices/abandoned-vehicles.

¿Vendiste tu vehículo y ahora tienes que pagar una multa?

¿Sabías que si vendes un vehículo, tú eres responsable por él hasta que se transfiera el título de propiedad en MVD o Proveedor Independiente Autorizado?

Imagínate esto: Vendiste, donaste o intercambiaste tu vehículo; el nuevo dueño te promete transferir el título a primera hora en la mañana…tú estás de acuerdo. Bien, el título nunca se transfirió a nombre del nuevo dueño; a lo mejor el vehículo fue abandonado, estuvo involucrado en un choque o se utilizó para cometer un crimen. Ya pasaron varias semanas, y porque tú eres el propietario en el récord de MVD, recibes una carta notificándote que el vehículo fue abandonado y que debes pagar una multa de $500 o $600 dólares, y lo peor de todo, que no podrás realizar ningún trámite con MVD hasta que el asunto sea resuelto.

La manera más fácil de evitar este escenario es completar de manera inmediata una Notificación de Venta (Sold Notice por su nombre en inglés) en AZMVDNow.gov. Encuentra más información sobre este tema en: www.azdot.gov/mvd/vehicleservices/abandoned-vehicles.

By Doug Nick / ADOT Communications

Here at the ol’ ADOT Communications ranch, we’ve been thinking about this internet thing and agree that it probably has a future.

What got us to thinking about technology is a birthday. Yep, one of our most important services, ServiceArizona.com, just turned 20 years old.

In our humble opinion, ServiceArizona.com rocks.

When it all began in November 1997, “Harry Potter” books hit the shelves, Mariah Carey ruled the radio and one of the biggest toys was … the “Bendoodles Collectibles.” Yeah, we don’t remember that one either.

ServiceArizona Kiosk

But while Bendoodles gather dust, Mariah does better in Vegas these days and Harry is all grown up, ServiceArizona.com has not only endured, it’s thrived.

The first day was not really auspicious. There were a whopping 125 transactions; 124 of which were done on a phone voice response system and the rest … OK, one, was actually online.

It got better.

In fact, in the past 20 years, ServiceArizona.com has handled more than 115 million transactions. That’s… well, it’s a lot.

More than half of the things you need to do with MVD can be done at ServiceArizona.com. The most popular transaction is vehicle registration renewal, which accounts for about 220,000 transactions every month. Other features include ordering a duplicate license or ID, getting a temporary operating permit, posting a sold notice, changing address information, getting a plate refund and many others.

Since 2016, features have been added allowing customers to update their vehicles' insurance information, reinstate canceled or lapsed insurance and order veteran specialty plate online. In 2018, more options will be added, including the ability to complete vehicle titles online.

Sadly, one thing ServiceArizona.com can’t do is accept birthday presents. There’s no place to hang a tie, put on cologne or wear a really neat sweater. Of course, if you sent some ice cream and cake, we might find a way to take care of that.

By John Halikowski / ADOT Director

We live in a digital world. This is ever so true at the Arizona Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Division. A recent analysis of MVD customer traffic for the 2017 fiscal year showed an upsurge in online usage at ServiceArizona.com and at kiosks. This uptick in customer traffic equaled the same level of traffic as we’d expect at two large urban “brick and mortar” MVD offices. In other words, more MVD business is being conducted in cyberspace, reducing the need to build more physical offices.

In fiscal year 2017, ServiceArizona.com and kiosk traffic accounted for a combined 7.9 million customer transactions such as vehicle registration renewals, ordering specialty license plates and updating insurance information. That’s an increase of about 286,000 online transactions compared to the previous fiscal year, which is approximately how many transactions two typical physical locations in Phoenix or Tucson will handle.

I commend our MVD employees who have embraced the Arizona Management System, a system designed to problem solve and improve customer service. I have written about the reduced wait times at MVD offices, which customers now can expect to spend 25 minutes less time in our urban offices. We have instituted online appointments for road tests, installed the means to update crucial auto insurance information and allowed veterans’ specialty license plates to be ordered online. Coming next year is the introduction of electronic title registration. Customers won’t have to come to a MVD office to conduct vehicle title registrations; such transactions can be done at home or office settings through a secure, electronic portal. We want people out of line and safely on the road.

All of these improvements ensure our customers, Arizona taxpayers, are receiving quality services and we are using resources efficiently.

It is indeed a digital world. The more online services MVD can provide ensures we are meeting our customers’ needs and on their schedule. It’s making transportation personal.

This post originally appeared on ADOT Director John Halikowski's
LinkedIn page. He has led the agency since 2009.

By Jennifer Bowser Richards / ADOT Motor Vehicle Division

ADOT’s Motor Vehicle Division has made incredible improvements across the board, earning shout-outs from Governor Doug Ducey, a visit from the Singapore Institute of Technology and plenty of awards.

Like all of ADOT, MVD is constantly evaluating its services to better serve customers. Here are some highlights:

• Door-to-door customer time averages a mere 24 minutes in urban offices.
• Urban offices now open at 7:30 a.m.
• ServiceArizona kiosk usage has increased to around 50,000 monthly transactions.
• Road tests may now be scheduled online.
• Paperwork has been reduced:
  • Getting a Motor Vehicle Record no longer requires an application.
  • Customers in need of a new or replacement ID or driver license now use a simpler application.

Between September 2016 and July 2017, MVD’s call centers have decreased total wait times from an average of 28 minutes to 11 minutes and decreased customer service response times from 24-48 hours to seven hours.

A number of changes have been made to ServiceArizona.com:

• Road test appointment scheduler: Customers now schedule an appointment to take a road test.
• Kiosks: 26 new cash kiosks were brought online and kiosks can now print Off-Highway Vehicle decals.
• Non-use affidavit: The paper process to certify a vehicle isn't in use has been made electronic.
• Insurance Update and Reinstatement: This allows customers to verify an insurance policy on file, reinstate following a lapse and supply vehicle insurance information.

A great deal has been accomplished over the past year, and there are many exciting developments on the horizon.

MVD is committed to getting customers “out of the line and safely on the road.”

By Doug Nick / ADOT Communications

Everybody likes an upgrade, right? And even though the Motor Vehicle Division continues to make it easier for our customers – you – to get things done with us online, there are those times when a visit to an MVD location is needed.

Sometimes, an office needs a facelift.

For the good folks in Tucson, an upgrade of MVD’s Regional Service Center – the largest MVD office in the Old Pueblo – was definitely in order, and MVD has delivered.

We took an office that was designed for a different era (think back to when MC Hammer still made hit music) and turned it into an efficient, open environment that serves 21st century customers.

We ripped out walls that interrupted foot traffic. We installed energy-efficient LED lights, expanded our vehicle road test and inspection areas, and modernized our infrastructure to accommodate the rapidly changing computer environment for our employees.

One thing we didn’t change was our ongoing commitment to improvement. The time it takes to get in and out of our urban offices statewide is below 30 minutes and often lower.

MVD’s vision is to get you out of line and safely on the road. At the Tucson Regional Service Center, our “facelift” made that a little bit easier.

By John Halikowski / ADOT Director

Times -- they are changing at the Arizona Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Division. Literally! The wait times at our Phoenix and Tucson MVD offices have been cut in half compared to last year. We have expanded the office hours at our MVD urban offices in Phoenix and Tucson, opening the doors at 7:30 a.m. to help meet customer needs. These efforts are resulting in great success.

I commend our employees at MVD who have embraced the Arizona Management System philosophy of finding change for the better. Instead of customers having to sit and wait to be served, a very arduous process a year ago, today we have employees providing assistance and answering questions upon arrival that reduce the amount of time a customer spends at an MVD office. Since February, customers at the 15 MVD offices in metro Phoenix and Tucson are now averaging fewer than 30 minutes from the moment they enter an office to the time they leave. Our rural MVD offices are also experiencing a reduction in wait times.

We have also introduced kiosks in MVD offices and offer more services online, reducing the amount of time customers need to spend at an MVD office. It follows our vision to get people out of line and safely on the road.

There are now 168 third party providers in locations statewide. Most third party providers offer similar services at an MVD office like drivers and motorcycle licenses, travel identification cards, and title and registrations. For a list of third party providers, visit the ADOT website, azdot.gov/mvd.

By opening our urban MVD offices a half an hour early, the results are showing better customer service. Our employees can have flexible schedules to meet the high demand times, the early morning and lunch time hours. We are saving on overtime costs as employees have time to complete their tasks during the day.

I am happy that our customer service representatives will have time now to continue their training. Beginning July 12, the urban MVD offices will open at noon to allow time for employee continuing education programs. This time change will occur on the second Wednesday of each month.

Times – they are changing at MVD – for better customer service and less wait time. Stay tuned, more innovations are on the way.

This post originally appeared on ADOT Director John Halikowski's 
LinkedIn page. He has led the agency since 2009.

By John Dougherty / ADOT Communications

Today we’re taking you from standin' on a corner in Winslow, Arizona, to the old train depot in Holbrook along historic Route 66. Just click through the slideshow above, and you're on your way.

Why the tour? We’re feeling nostalgic after our Route 66 plate was recently named best license plate in the nation.

If you’re interested in getting the plate for your vehicle, visit the MVD website and then order online at Service Arizona. If you missed the award ceremony, take a look at our Route 66 Specialty Plate Flickr album. There are some very unique classic cars included in the album!

By Doug Nick / ADOT Communications

You know how football fans love to tailgate hours or even days before a big game?

That’s kind of what lining up at an Arizona Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Division office used to be like in the early morning.

The only thing missing, was, well… fun.

We get that, so we made some changes.

A MVD Building

A few months ago in Tucson we started opening up MVD offices at 7:30 instead of 8 a.m. That allows us to be more flexible in how we schedule our employees. Some come in a bit earlier than others, and that means we can spread things out more evenly throughout the day.

This has worked so well in Tucson, we’re now doing it in the Phoenix area too – 15 offices in all. We wrote about it on 6/20/2017.

We’re moving customers through our locations more efficiently. That’s a big deal during peak times like early in the morning, the lunch hour and later in the day. Flexing schedules means fewer gaps when employees are at lunch or on a break and we can have more service windows open.

It also allows our staff people to catch up on many of the paperwork tasks that build up during the day. Taking care of those on an ongoing basis means there’s a lot less to go through at closing time, and we’ve reduced overtime costs significantly. That’s a huge savings to you, the taxpayer.

And because we’re making so many service improvements, we’re going to the next level in continually training our employees. To do that, our offices in Phoenix and Tucson will open at noon on the second Wednesday of every month, starting July 12th.

The expanded office hours combined with the modified schedule on the second Wednesday of each month provide an overall increase of six hours a month during which customers may receive services at an urban MVD office.

Of course we’d love to see you, but you may not need to visit at all. Remember, more than half of the things you need to do with MVD can be done online at ServiceArizona.com.

MVD: Getting you out of line and safely on the road.

By Doug Nick / ADOT Communications

It’s stylish… good-looking… useful… and very, very popular.

“It” is the Route 66 specialty license plate that’s been available since December 2016 and has really found a place in the hearts – not to mention on the rear bumpers – of a lot of Arizona motorists.

Thousands of these plates have flown off the shelves, and the best part of that is more than $51,000 has been raised already for Route 66 preservation efforts.

In case you didn’t know, Route 66 isn’t a federal highway any more. It was officially de-commissioned in the 1980s when I-40 was completed. But many parts of the roadway are not only usable, they’re vital to their communities. Flagstaff, Kingman, Holbrook and other cities and towns rely on Route 66 for more than nostalgia; plenty of thriving businesses have a Route 66 address.

But if it’s nostalgia that puts air in your tires, Route 66 fills that role. So that specialty plate money, which will only continue to grow as the years go by and more plates are sold, comes in handy to make sure people are reminded about the countless lives that have been touched in some way by the “Mother Road.”

Now, did we say the plate itself is stylish? Yes, we did, but you don’t have to take our word for it. The plate just won a national award as “Best New License Plate” in the U.S.

That honor came courtesy of the Automobile License Plate Collectors Association. Not too long ago they dropped by to share the award. You can take a look at the video above.

If MVD was a roadside diner, this plate would be today’s special. If we’ve whetted your appetite, you can order one here: azdot.gov/mvd.

By Doug Nick / ADOT Communications

We like to talk a lot about how more than half of the things you might need to do with the Motor Vehicle Division can be done online at ServiceArizona.com.

Now we’ve added two more things you can do at ServiceArizona.com, and they both involve something that the law says every vehicle owner in Arizona must have: insurance.

So if you look at the ServiceArizona.com home page, you’ll see two new tabs:

The Insurance Update is free and allows customers to electronically provide information regarding their insurance coverage directly to MVD. Why is this a big deal? Insurance companies are given seven days by law to update policy information when changes such as cancellations or renewals occur. Sometimes there may be a lag in that reporting time from an insurance provider, so this online option will help customers with valid insurance to immediately update their MVD record and avoid a suspension.

The second tab is the Reinstatement Function. It allows customers to reinstate vehicle insurance that had been previously canceled or lapsed. The function will determine eligibility for reinstatement, make real-time updates to the MVD customer database upon completion, allow the customer to pay the $50 fee for each vehicle reinstatement, and provide a receipt confirmation that indicates the registration has been reinstated.

We’ll keep finding ways to make your MVD experience as quick and easy as possible. If it saves you a trip, it’s a win because it gets you out of line and safely on the road.