The Electronic Postmark is an easy-to-use online service that allows qualified parties to search the Bureau of Motor Vehicles database for a driver record, which is then attached to a digitally signed and sealed letter from the Commissioner of the Bureau of Motor Vehicles. The entire document is postmarked using the USPS Electronic Postmark. The online service electronically delivers the postmarked document to the county prosecutor's office. This record can be used in court, saved for later use or printed out and filed with the court proceedings.
The new solution has already received national recognition by earning a 2004 Digital Government Award for the most innovative pilot or prototype service. The award was presented by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology last month in Washington, D.C.
"This project showcases how new technologies and solid partnerships can lead to exciting opportunities to efficiently and securely do business in Indiana," said Indiana Gov. Joe Kernan.
The new service launched in late December 2003 by offering digitally certified 10-year driver records to three county prosecutor offices. Prosecutors obtained nearly 200 digitally certified records online during the three months of the test phase. Following the success of the pilot project, the Bureau of Motor Vehicles made the service available to prosecutors in all 92 Indiana counties. An additional 1,200 digitally certified records have been ordered electronically since the statewide launch in February. With planned developments, the Bureau of Motor Vehicles estimates that 100,000 driving records could be digitally certified through the new service each year.
Before the online service was available, prosecutors who requested certified driver records could expect to wait up to six weeks for processing and mail delivery. Now, prosecutors can get certified driver records in a matter of seconds. "The state's new driver record service has already saved our office a lot of time and effort," said Hamilton County prosecutor Teresa Thomas. "I don't know what we ever did without it."
"I am confident that the powerful combination of the USPS Electronic Postmark system, digitally signed documents and accessIndiana will prove highly advantageous to the citizens and businesses in our state," said Laura Larimer, Indiana's chief information officer. "This solution has laid the foundation for many future time and money-saving online services."
