This is because, using NMVTIS, the copy of the motor vehicle title presented for retitling would be electronically validated against the database of the state that originally titled the vehicle. AAMVA will provide the brand file. AAMVA expects completion of the test within the first quarter of calendar year 2000 and its evaluation of the results shortly thereafter. AAMVA’s Estimated Cost of NMVTIS

AAMVA’s March 19, 1999, cost estimate for a fully implemented NMVTIS is $33.9 million—that is, $24.2 million for states to develop new systems or adapt existing ones to link with NMVTIS and $9.7 million for AAMVA and its contractors to develop and implement NMVTIS. We found the following:
43 of the 47 total respondents (participants and nonparticipants) thought NMVTIS could be implemented in their state;
32 of 40 nonparticipating states responding to our survey expressed interest in participating in NMVTIS, and, of the 8 other states, 2 said they were planing to express interest in participating and 6 said resources or other priorities precluded their participation; and
27 of 47 states indicated that funding or resources could be a barrier to their successful implementation of NMVTIS. Justice Has Not Determined If NMVTIS Warrants Additional Federal Investment

Justice has not evaluated NMVTIS’ expected life-cycle costs and benefits to ensure that additional federal funding is justified. The Clinger-Cohen Act of 1996 and the best practices used by public and private organizations to manage information technology investment would provide an analytical basis for informed investment management decisions. Objectives, Scope, and Methodology

Our objectives were to (1) determine the current status of the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System (NMVTIS) and (2) determine whether Justice had evaluated NMVTIS’ expected costs and benefits to ensure that additional federal investment in the system is justified. We spoke with officials from the Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA), and AAMVA’s two contractors—The Polk Company and the National Insurance Crime Bureau.
Why GAO Did This Study

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Department of Justice's (DOJ) development and implementation of the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System (NMVTIS), focusing on: (1) the status of NMVTIS; and (2) whether DOJ had evaluated NMVTIS' expected costs and benefits to ensure that additional federal investment in NMVTIS is justified.

What GAO Found

GAO noted that: (1) DOJ has not evaluated NMVTIS' expected life-cycle costs and benefits to ensure that additional federal funding is justified; (2) the Clinger-Cohen Act of 1996 and best practices used by public and private organizations to manage information technology investments suggest that such an evaluation will provide an analytical basis for informed investment decisions; (3) as of March 1999, the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA) expected the development and implementation of NMVTIS to cost about $34 million; (4) AAMVA is expected to update this estimate when its seven-state test of NMVTIS is finished; (5) AAMVA estimated that test would be completed within the first quarter of calendar year 2000; (6) through FY 1999, Congress has provided DOJ and the Department of Transportation with about $8 million of an expected $22 million federal investment in NMVTIS; (7) the states and AAMVA and its contractors would be expected to provide the remaining $12 million; (8) NMVTIS was designed to allow users to electronically validate an existing vehicle title and title-related information; (9) however, a potential barrier to electronically validating titles and title-related information could be the lack of full participation by all state departments of motor vehicles; and (10) although 43 states of the 47 states responding to GAO's survey thought that they could implement NMVTIS and 32 states of the 40 nonparticipating states had expressed an interest in doing so, 27 of the 47 states were concerned about how they would fund NMVTIS.