Interpretation ID: nht95-5.14

TYPE: INTERPRETATION-NHTSA

DATE: December 29, 1995 EST

FROM: Samuel J. Dubbin -- Chief Counsel, NHTSA

TO: Mark Heminway -- Director of Fleet Operations, The Hertz Corporation

TITLE: NONE

ATTACHMT: 8/24/95 letter from Mark Heminway to John Womack (OCC 11167)

TEXT: This is in response to your letter in which you requested from the Chief Counsel of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) an opinion as to whether a process Hertz has developed for digitally scanning original written and hand-printed signatures and applying the scanned signatures to odometer disclosure statements using a laser printer meets the requirements of 49 CFR Section 580.

The process you describe raises the issue of whether use of digitally-scanned and laser-printed reproductions of the signature and hand-printed name on odometer disclosures complies with the requirement of 49 CFR @ 580.5(c) and (f) for the signature and printed name of the transferor and transferee. After careful review of the sample Hertz submitted of a title completed using its process and the description of the process in your letter in light of the Federal odometer disclosure statute and regulation s, the agency concludes that the process of digital scanning and laser printing of the signatures on vehicle titles as described in your letter and exemplified by the accompanying sample you submitted fulfills the requirements of the Federal odometer dis closure law. It would be advisable, however, for Hertz to ascertain whether its process also meets applicable requirements of state laws governing motor vehicle titles. States may have different or additional requirements which would affect their willing ness to accept titles printed using the Hertz system.

Section 580.5(c) of NHTSA's odometer disclosure regulation requires that the "written disclosure must be signed by the transferor, including the printed name." 49 CFR @ 580.5(c). Section 580.5(f) specifies the same requirement for the transferee signing the odometer disclosure. In the preamble to the final rule adopting these provisions, and in many interpretations of those requirements, the agency has stated that the signature and printed name requirement means that both the signatures and printed na mes of the transferor and transferee must be handwritten by the respective parties to the transaction. It has made it clear that entry of these items in typewriting, either manually or by means of a computer, does not satisfy the regulation.

Handwriting or handprinting, unlike typewriting, can be subjected to handwriting analysis which is an indispensable tool in identifying the actual individuals who complete fraudulent odometer disclosures. Thus, the agency views the handwriting and hand- printing requirements as essential to the successful identification and prosecution of perpetrators of odometer fraud.

It is our view that the Hertz system as described in your letter and evidenced by the sample you enclosed satisfies the need for an adequate handwriting sample, as well as protection against unauthorized use, and therefore NHTSA's regulations, permit its use. The digital scanning and laser printing of the signature and printed name provided by Hertz' system (as shown on the sample you provided to this office) produce a handwriting exemplar that is sufficiently clear for handwriting analysis. In additi on, the system you describe whereby access to use of the digitally-scanned signature is password-protected appears to provide adequate security against use of the signature and hand-printed name by anyone other than the person who wrote it.

We wish to caution that this opinion should not be construed as a blanket approval of the use of signature and hand-printed names that have been digitally scanned. It is based to a large extent on the quality of the example that you provided with your l etter. Both scanners and computerized printers vary considerably in the degree of resolution and clarity of the image, and scanners also vary in the accuracy with which they reproduce the image from the original.

Accordingly, we cannot assume that all combinations of scanners and printers would be capable of producing an image that will provide a handwriting and hand printing exemplar that is adequate for handwriting analysis. Therefore, if any changes are made in the process or the equipment used that make the signature and/or hand printed name less clear than they appear on its sample, Hertz should submit an example of the product of that change for review by NHTSA before using it on actual odometer disclosur es.

I hope this information is responsive to your request. If you have any further questions regarding this interpretation, or any other legal questions concerning the Federal odometer disclosure statute and regulations, please write to this office at the a bove address, or call Eileen Leahy, an attorney on my staff, at (202) 366-5263.