Gov. Jeff Landry announced Tuesday that the state’s Office of Technology Services (OTS) and its Office of Motor Vehicles (OMV) have hired CHAMP to modernize state driver’s license and vehicle registration services.
“By choosing CHAMP, we’re cutting costs, cutting wait times, and cutting out inefficiencies that have plagued this system for decades,” Landry said in a statement. “After many fits and starts, OMV is finally taking Louisiana into the 21st century.”
He and OMV Commissioner Bryan Adams, whom Landry appointed March 31, talked about the project’s goals following replacement of the agency’s 50-year-old mainframe, on the governor’s “Diner Days” podcast.
“For the old-timers watching the podcast, [imagine a] black screen with green letters,” Adams said. It was “shutting down, people waiting in long lines at the OMVs … shutting down during the day, you have to come back the next day … it’s just been a mess.”
The system was down for 60 days, Adams said, “right around the time that we had to get down to business with REAL ID.”
The announcement of CHAMP’s hiring comes about four months after the governor declared a state of emergency for the OMV in response to breakdowns that shuttered offices, stalled services and left residents without reliable access to basic licensing functions. Landry’s Executive Order JML 25-032, dated March 20, and its extension, dated July 11, allowed the state to bypass standard procurement procedures to expedite system replacement.
CHAMP uses a software-as-a-service model that has a digital system of record, automated verification and validation, and AI for fraud prevention, according to its website.
The procurement and hiring decision reflect “modernization, teamwork and efficiency in state government,” OTS Director of Communications Thomas Mule’ said. Two project managers — one from each state agency involved — helped narrow the final vendor list to three, then two, he said. OTS and OMV “worked hand in hand” and negotiated with both finalists simultaneously; ultimately, CHAMP met concessions and state budget needs. Among Louisiana’s requirements: The state will retain ownership of its data.
“We put our two teams together and evaluated several vendors, and just this past week we decided on a vendor. We issued a purchase order on Monday, and the second week in August, we’re going to be boots on the ground,” Adams said during the podcast.
Reducing customer wait time at field offices is ranked as a top priority. “It’s one of the experiences that should be one of the greatest things that the state’s seen in 50 years,” the commissioner said, indicating more than 3 million people a year interact with OMV systems in some way.
The implementation is set to begin Aug. 1. A modernized driver’s licensing system is expected to roll out in about 12 months, and a refreshed vehicle registration process to follow in about 18 to 24 months, Adams said. The full contract term is six years, and its $54 million cost, Adams said, is $3 million lower than another proposal.
CHAMP has worked with a handful of states since its founding in 2018. West Virginia selected the company in 2021 to handle the state’s vehicle title and registration, launching what officials called the nation’s first digital vehicle title system. And in 2023 Kentucky chose CHAMP to handle its vehicle titles and liens. New Jersey and Illinois also use the company’s services.
As for OMV’s 1970s era mainframe? It was fully replaced in May after being patched in early April, according to OTS, which partners with other state agencies to provide technology solutions. The governor’s executive orders described “outdated and complex” systems that had been overloaded and difficult to maintain. The system, according to those orders, hadn’t been purged since 2008, struggled with volume, and lacked the capacity to handle license data and redundancy. Since its replacement, operations are being closely monitored and have been much smoother.
