ETR: Electronic Title & Registration
ETR lets your dealership send title applications and TAVT payments to the customer's county tag office electronically. Every Georgia dealer must use it.
What is ETR?
Our most frequently asked questions about ETR
What is ETR?
ETR stands for Electronic Title Registration. It lets dealerships process title and registration paperwork electronically: you submit title applications and TAVT payments to the customer's county tag office online.
Do dealers have to use ETR?
Yes. Since a mandate that took effect January 1, 2018, every Georgia dealer must use ETR to register a title.
Which deals don't go through ETR? When would I do a “New TOP only” deal?
Some transactions aren't processed through ETR, including ones exempt from TAVT (title applications for certain disabled veterans and non-resident service members), trucks and charter buses registering under the International Registration Plan (IRP), vehicles bought by government agencies, loaner vehicles, and vehicles titled in a dealer's name. These still go directly to the county tag office. Contact the tag office in the county where the buyer lives for how to submit them.
Other ETR exceptions
- Vehicles sold by out-of-state dealers
- Courtesy deliveries (a vehicle sold by an out-of-state dealer, with the documents submitted by a Georgia dealer)
- Vehicles sold through an auction where the auction isn't the seller in the title assignment
- Applications for rebuilt titles
- Transactions exempt from TAVT, such as title applications for certain disabled veterans and non-resident service members
- Vehicles registering under the International Registration Plan (IRP)
- Non-motorized vehicles, such as mobile homes and trailers
- Vehicles bought by government agencies
- Loaner vehicles
- Vehicles titled in a dealer's name
- Unusual transactions, such as VIN corrections
A TitleTec representative will follow up to help you get set up.
ETR training
Using TitleTec's T21 system
Questions or trouble joining? TitleTec support: 1-855-336-9023 or support@titletec.com.
TitleTec's T21 training videos
Common training questions for TitleTec's T21 system
How do I print a TOP?
You print the TOP as one of the steps in your ETR deal. Don't do a “TOP only deal”: that's only for TAVT-exempt transactions, such as a buyer who isn't a Georgia resident. Everything else goes through “New ETR Deal”.
How do I do a new ETR deal?
Click “Process Deals” in the bottom left corner, then “New ETR Deal” in the upper left corner, and fill in the information. You can't pend or finalize a deal until all the necessary information is filled in.
I don't have the title yet, and it won't let me pend the deal.
Use “Use Pending Title Information” on the Vehicles tab. It lets you pend the deal and print the TOP, but you must go back, edit the pending deal, enter the title number and state, and update the deal before you can finalize it.
What does “Finalize Deal” mean?
Once a deal is pended and ready (all the title work in, TAVT deposited in your bank account), press “Finalize Deal” on the Submit tab. After that:
You can print the T21 Coversheet. You need it to send your title work to your QA scanning facility. Keep a copy, and you may give your customer one: it works as a title receipt, with the vehicle, customer and TAVT information for registration.
The vendor collects the TAVT and deal fees by ACH and sends them to the Department of Revenue, which forwards them to the county tag office.
If you chose “Title Only”, the customer picks up their tag at their county tag office (we suggest giving them a copy of the T21 Coversheet).
We chose “New Plate & Title”. How long until the customer's tag is mailed?
Once a deal shows as “Final”, the Department of Revenue usually mails the tag within 3 to 5 business days.
It's been well past 3 to 5 days. What now?
Tags can get lost in the mail. The customer can call the Department of Revenue (855-406-5221) for how to get that tag.
How long until the customer gets their title?
Once a deal shows as “Final & Scanned” and “Successfully Transmitted to the State”, the Department of Revenue usually mails the title within 7 to 10 business days.
We're the lienholder. Where does our title go?
To add your lien on a Georgia title you must have an ELT account. It's mandatory in Georgia, and it lets you reach your titles electronically to release the lien or print the title for mailing. If you add a lien by hand, you may not be able to reach that title record to release it. See ELT.
I can't pend or finalize my deal. What's wrong?
If you can't pend a deal, usually some necessary information is missing: check that every field is filled in. If you can't finalize, an error message shows in red at the top of the Submit tab. It may be a data entry error, a logic error, or an error from the Department of Revenue about the title or the customer.
I've done everything. What paperwork do I send?
See the bottom of the T21 Coversheet: everything in bold must be sent with each deal, and the other forms only when they apply. You send your scanning center the same documents you would give a county tag office.
Every deal must include the MV-7D, signed by the customer and the dealer's authorized agent. It's on the Submit tab (usually below the “Print MV-1” button) or on the deal's eForms tab.
Where do I send my paperwork?
If you're an independent dealer new to ETR, GIADA is probably your QA scanning center, but please call us to check: documents sent to the wrong scanning center are delayed.
If TitleTec is your ETR vendor, you may send your documents to the GIADA office, by a trackable service: GIADA, Attn: ETR Dept, 6903 Oak Ridge Commerce Way SW, Austell, GA 30168.
How long does it take for my paperwork to be scanned?
Usually 7 business days. To check on a deal, click “Process Deals” in the bottom left corner, then “My Deals” in the upper left, and search by the T21 ID. Clicking the T21 ID shows more on the Scanning tab.
I'm getting messages about late documents. What do I do?
Send every document on time: a late one doesn't move up the line at the QA center. The MV-34 form must be signed and notarized, and kept separate from the deal paperwork. To avoid late fees, scan and email it to etr@giada.org or fax it to 470-231-2420.
How do I see what fees are taken from my bank account?
Click “Dealer Billing” in the bottom left corner, then “Dealer Statement” in the upper left. Click the linked terms for more on each deal.
I pended a deal in my DMS and now T21 asks me to enter it all again, and it still won't finalize.
Open pended deals directly in TitleTec's T21 system instead: click “Process Deals” in the bottom left, then “Search Deals” in the top left, search by deal number, T21 ID or VIN, and click “Search for Deals”. That opens what you already entered, so you only complete it, with no double entry.