ELV Online is Blueprint for Success for ELVES

An essential part of scrapping an old car or small van in Ireland is getting a Certificate of Destruction.  The issuing of a Certificate of Destruction or CoD notifies the Department of Transport that a car has been scrapped and marks it as such on the central vehicle database – National Vehicle & Driver File (NVDF).  The CoD process ends the owner’s responsibility for that vehicle and so is a vitally important part of scrapping any passenger car or small van.

In 2016, with only a third of CoDs being issued online, ELVES worked with the Department of Transport to identify improvements to ELV Online. The resulting changes made the online system easier and quicker for ATFs to use. A concerted effort was made by ELVES, the Department of Transport and the Waste Enforcement Regional Local Authorities (WERLAs) to get ATFs signed up to the system.

Prior to 2016, CoDs were issued manually, using a triplicate form with one copy held by the Authorised Treatment Facility (ATF), one by the owner and the third copy sent to the Department of Transport.  This was a laborious process, not only for the ATF, having to write out the vehicle and owner details every time, but also for the Department of Transport which had to process these paper forms.

Since 2017 however, the online CoD system, ELV Online (https://www.motorelv.ie/ELV/) has successfully taken on the heavy lifting. This system is much quicker for the ATF to use and is also automated for the Department of Transport.  The investment has certainly paid off, with a significant change in the way CoDs are issued.

Since the improvements were implemented, the number of ATFs using the system has doubled and a comparison of issuing rates using the two systems, paper and online shows how established patterns have had more than a complete 180^o turnaround.

In 2016, just 33% of total CoDs were issued online, while in 2020 that figure was 90%.

Within the ELVES Network the take up is even more impressive. In 2020, 80% of total CoDs were issued by the ELVES Network, with 95% of these being issued through ELV Online.

These numbers point to significant success and trust in the online process, showing wide acceptance and take up of a system that not only benefits ATFs, but also speeds up CoD issuing for the owner, as well as significantly reducing the burden of administration for the Department of Transport. A win, win project with benefits for all.

It is anticipated that circumstances during 2020 will have accelerated demand for this service with businesses having had to minimise physical contact during the Covid 19 pandemic.  ATFs who would like to register or just to find out more about ELV Online can do so at https://www.motorelv.ie/ELV/