DMV looking to thin lobby

By JUSTIN HARMON/Staff

The Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles wants to keep people out of its customer service centers. And the department’s willing to pay for it.
Washington County Treasurer Fred Parker said a new Virginia law that took effect July 1 has the department’s customer service centers charging $5 for renewed vehicle registrations. To avoid the fees, the DMV Web site urges residents to go online or at least to the mailbox for registration renewal.
“They want to keep people out for the minor stuff,” said Parker.
If you would rather deal with a person face-to-face, however, Parker said the cepartment’s select centers aren’t charging the fee. One of those select centers is located in the Washington County Treasurer’s Office on Main Street in Abingdon.
Parker said the select center in his office offers just about everything that a normal Department of Motor Vehicles center offers with the exception of drivers licenses and title transfers.
Parker said the biggest reason for this move is that people who are waiting until the last moment to renew tags or do other minor transactions are slowing down the already lengthy process for getting a driver’s license. Parker said that since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks seven years ago, the process has been made much longer and more stringent.
“It’s increased the processing time, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing,” he said.
Parker said his office can do nearly everything, including new titles and tags and tag renewal.
The DMV Web site says that those who go online for their tag renewals will receive a $1 discount from the normal price while avoiding the fee. Every other method of renewal, including phone, mail and the select centers are offering a $2 discount if the tags a renewed for two years. This discount applies to the Internet method as well, but doesn’t stack with the $1 discount. In addition, the fee will be waived at the customer service centers if the transaction is completed along with another transaction that can’t be completed outside of a customer service center.
The office in the Treasurer’s Office is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Justin Harmon can be reached at 628-7101 or