CT DMV Reopens This Week, Even Longer Lines Expected

The Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles completed the creation of several new online services as well as an overhaul of its registration computer systems, ahead of schedule. The DMV has been closed for many services during the last week for the upgrade.

Work on installing the online services went so smoothly, officials say they were able to launch the services late Saturday. They were originally scheduled to start Tuesday (Aug. 18). The DMV’s new online services can be found here.

“The diligent work of staff, the planning and the preparation are what has brought us here ahead of our own deadline and gave us the ability to provide the public with these new services earlier than expected,” said DMV Commissioner Andres Ayala Jr. in a prepared statement.

The DMV’s new online services are:

• Improved online registration renewal program
• Online checks for items, such as unpaid property taxes, lack of insurance, delinquent parking violations, which can hold up a registration renewal and cause repeat trips to DMV
• Reprints of registration certificates from home or other computers
• Registration cancellations online
• Online ordering of special plates, such as vanity plates
• Online ordering of replacements for damaged plates
• Electronic notification by providing customers with an option for DMV to contact them either by mail or e-mail

The agency’s usual work week is Tuesday through Noon on Saturday, with extended hours on Thursday evenings. A list of DMV offices and their hours of operation can be found here.

When offices open Tuesday, long lines are expected. With many branch office services stopped last week, officials expect a higher-than-usual need for visiting DMV offices. This is coupled with employees and the public adjusting to using the system. The combination is expected to contribute to the lines.

The Commissioner advised the public to use any of the new online services to save a trip to the DMV next week. To help ease the effects of the shutdown and bringing up a new system, beginning Aug. 11, Governor Dannel P. Malloy and DMV Commissioner Ayala have ordered that the expiration date of all driver’s licenses, ID cards or vehicle registrations be extended through Oct. 10, 2015. Renewals can be made without a late fee until that date.

“If you don’t have to be here next week, then people should stay away for at least a week, perhaps longer,” the Commissioner advised. He said that the extensions give many people the convenience of delaying a trip to DMV. Statewide AAA offices can do renew or replace licenses.

The DMV has also launched a radio, television and digital advertising campaign called “Gear Up” to make customers aware of the shutdown and informs them of the new online services.

Click here for more information about the DMV modernization project.

This article was written by Brian McCready; photo courtesy of CT DMV