Limited registrar services offered

Customers now can get an auto title and registration from the clerk of courts.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Mahoning County residents no longer need to stop one place for an automobile title and then go somewhere else for the registration.
The county clerk of courts office is one of eight in Ohio selected to be a limited authority deputy registrar as part of a pilot program by the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles. The other participating counties are Ashland, Butler, Cuyahoga, Franklin, Jefferson, Summit and Tuscarawas.
The program allows county title offices, which are operated by the clerk of courts, to offer limited deputy registrar services. In the past, the clerk's office could issue only automobile titles, not registrations, said Clerk of Courts Anthony Vivo.
The title offices participating in the pilot program now have authority to issue new vehicle registrations; transfer a registration from a car that has been sold to a new vehicle; and conduct out-of-state vehicle inspections. Those services had previously been available only through a deputy registrar.
"It's a one-stop shop," Vivo said. "It's just an added convenience for our residents -- a way of making things easier for them."
Limited services
The limited authority deputy registrars cannot issue a driver's license or an official state identification card, and cannot renew a vehicle registration. Those services still are available only through a deputy registrar, said Frank Caltrider, Ohio registrar.
"Purchasing a new registration or transferring the plates from one vehicle to another is usually the next step a vehicle owner must take once they have purchased a car," Caltrider said. "Being able to do this in the clerk's office is a tremendous convenience."
Vivo said his staff at the title office, located in the county's South Side Annex on Market Street, has adapted well to the new responsibilities. Customer response has been favorable, he said.
Between July 22, which is when the pilot project began in Mahoning County, and Aug. 23, the clerk's office issued 347 vehicle registrations, Vivo said.
bjackson@vindy.com