More than 30 online services from the Arizona Motor Vehicle Division will soon be available to customers from the comfort of their homes.
To make that happen, however, the Arizona Department of Transportation will shut down all MVD services beginning at 5 p.m. Friday, April 17. The offices are set to reopen five days later on Tuesday, April 21.
Once installed, the agency’s new computer system will be stress-tested by employees to “mimic real-world conditions” before being made available to customers, said Douglas Nick, assistant communications director for customer outreach with ADOT.
Nick said it’s a plan five years in the making to rid the agency of a computer system that’s more than 35 years old.
“It will be more user friendly, will be far more intuitive, and will allow for far more transactions,” Nick said about the new computer system. He said the biggest change for employees will be the ability to pick up in the middle of a transaction if a customer forgets an important document.
It’ll allow customers to apply for a license or ID and keep track of all the vehicles they own and information like payment history, “whether it’s a boat trailer and an RV and a truck and two cars. You’ll see all of that there,” Nick said.
Currently MVD only offers four to five online services, including learner’s permit testing and electronic title transfers of Arizona vehicles.
“There’s no worry about having the bonded paper. So, it’s more secure, it’s less susceptible to fraud,” Nick said.
“And then the only thing that the customers need to do is figure out your price and you deal with that on your own.”
“It’s really a secure personal account where you can do it all, it’s kind of like having a bank account where you do your MVD business.”
Other services include: renewing registration, obtaining general use permits, duplicate tabs and registration, and more.
Due to the pandemic, those worried about expiring licenses have a six-month extension if the expiration falls between March 1 and Sept. 1, according to ADOT.
“So those folks do not need to come to an MVD office for another six months beyond their original expiration date and that’s already in their computer record. Law enforcement would see that if need be,” Nick said.
“That’s about 180,000 people in the state that that applies to.”
Those worried about late vehicle registrations are also not effected by the dayslong shutdown because renewals occur on the 1st and 15th of each month.
The deadline to obtain a REAL ID, which will be necessary during travel, was also pushed back to Oct. 1, 2021.
“So as important as getting the travel ID is, we’re asking people to take a pause right now while we get through this COVID-19 situation,” Nick said.
“That helps reduce the customer traffic, which is already down significantly anyway because of the social-distancing measures that we’ve taken in the last few weeks.”
Down the Road
Closures set for I-10 near Prince Road: Overnight lane closures along Interstate 10 near Prince Road continue this week, which will cause occasional delays.
Crews will perform pavement work Sunday through Thursday from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m.
The eastbound exit ramp from I-10 to Prince Road will also be closed on Monday and Thursday this week. Motorists should use the Miracle Mile exit and use westbound I-10 to Prince Road.
Delays during road work on Mark Road: Construction crews will mill and pave South Mark Road between West Irvington and West Los Reales roads from Monday to Friday.
Crews will work from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Motorists will be ushered through the work zone, causing minor delays.
