Submitted by F. Milene Henley

San Juan County Auditor

Online licensing services will be unavailable from Sunday, Aug. 26, through Monday, Sept. 3; and state licensing offices will be closed Friday, Aug. 31, through Monday, Sept. 3. As a result, many county licensing offices – including San Juan County’s – will also be closed Friday, Aug. 31. Normal services will resume on Sept. 4.

The reason for the closure is that the Department of Licensing (DOL) is upgrading its systems over Labor Day weekend in order to better protect your information and add some new features.

The Driver and Vehicle System project is a four-year effort to upgrade the state’s driver and vehicle technology systems. DRIVES R2, to upgrade driver licensing technology, is the second in a series of overhauls to the legacy systems. DRIVES R1, which updated vehicle licensing systems, was implemented in December of 2016. A third project, DRIVES R3, to upgrade Business and Professional Licensing systems, will begin later this year.

Once complete, DOL will have the ability to:

Provide DOL staff and vehicle licensing business partners better processes

Provide more accurate records to law enforcement

Implement new initiatives faster

Increase system reliability and reduce downtime

Develop and support new business processes

New features!

The system will also bring new features for customers. Here are some of the things customers will soon be able to do from the comfort of their own home:

Change a driver license to an ID card. No longer want to drive? Switching to an ID card online will be easy.

Lost license? Replace a lost license even with a CDL (some restrictions may apply).

Apply for a restricted license.

Pre-apply for an Enhanced Driver License. Start your paperwork online before you even enter an office!

For more info, visit 360-664-9698.