Electronic lien and title (ELT)
A system where the state keeps a financed car's title electronically and lenders release liens online.
Electronic lien and title (ELT) programs let a state DMV and lenders exchange title and lien information electronically instead of mailing paper titles. While a loan is open, there may be no paper title at all; the record lives in the state database.
This matters when you want to sell or junk a car you recently paid off. You may need to request a paper title, or wait for one to be issued after the lender’s electronic release, before you can sign it over.
Florida says an electronic title provides the same information as a paper title and that the record stays in the department’s database until a paper title is requested, for example to sell the vehicle.1
References
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Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, “Electronic Liens and Titles (ELT)”, https://www.flhsmv.gov/motor-vehicles-tags-titles/liens-and-titles/elt/ ↩