Under a new system that begins its rollout Oct. 1, Illinois dealerships will use paper stock issued by the secretary of state’s office to print temporary registration permits and hand them to customers.

The change comes as an effort to improve the process and because the plastic sheath that covers the fiberboard material used for the current TRPs no longer is available, said Thomas Steven, the managing assistant to Ernie Dannenberger, director of the office’s Vehicle Services Department.

Existing TRPs will be discontinued after Nov. 3. Expirations on the new TRP will remain the same at 90 days. A secretary of state facility could issue a subsequent TRP, if needed.

In the new system, SuperUsers (an administrator or manager) will assign packages of 25 TRPs to each User (issuer), who cannot share or reallocate any from that supply. Each lost, stolen or destroyed TRP will result in a $151 fine. Further misuse of any permit will be met with a $175 fine per instance and possible loss of system access or criminal charges.

The secretary of state will reach out to dealer licensees in early October and issue usernames and passwords to access its system to generate TRPs. Based on their recent registration activity, the office also will issue licensees 90-day supplies of TRP stock.

 

The secretary of state prepared a slide deck to help train users on the new system. It faces refinement, as one field that calls for a driver’s license number actually seeks to obtain the dealership number issued by that office.

Whereas Illinois license plates can contain no more than seven characters, the new TRP features eight — six numerals separated by two letters. The smaller TRP for motorcycles has four numbers and two letters.

Dealerships must maintain envelopes to store receipts for each set of 25 TRPs plus any voided TRPs from that set. Voided TRPs must be returned on a monthly basis to Springfield.

The secretary of state is operating a hotline, (217) 524-4329, for dealership employees to call with questions.