FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 16, 2000
CONTACT: SID GAULDEN, 803-896-8755
DMV CUSTOMERS ENCOURAGED TO RENEW DRIVER’S LICENSE BY MAIL
COLUMBIA – As a result of changes mandated by the South Carolina General Assembly in 1994, the South Carolina Department of Public Safety Division of Motor Vehicles branch offices throughout the state have seen a surge in recent months of customers seeking to renew their driver’s licenses.
In 1994, the state Legislature changed the period in which licenses must be renewed from four years to five years. Every license expires on the driver’s birth date on the fifth calendar year after the calendar year in which it was issued. This is the first year of the five-year renewals.
At the end of 1999, DMV was issuing 50,000 drivers licenses, identification cards, beginners permits, commercial drivers licenses and other documents a month, on average. In the first three months of this year, that number has climbed to an average of 91,000 such documents a month, almost a 100 percent increase. As a result, DMV is averaging 37,000 drivers license renewals a month across the state. This has caused DMV to experience a glut of customers in the branch offices seeking to renew their licenses and has resulted in increased lines and longer waiting time.
"I know how frustrating this long wait time is for customers, particularly in offices that are already high-traffic," B. Boykin Rose. "To help counter the lines, we are encouraging customers to renew their licenses by mail and conduct many other transactions by mail. We also are looking at a number of other ways to alleviate the inconveniences caused by the growing number of documents issued by DMV."
One way DMV customers can help is by trying to visit their local offices during off-peak hours, which normally are between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m, or near closing time.
The easiest way for customers to conduct business by mail is to consult the DMV web site (www.state.sc.us/dps/dmv) for the appropriate forms or applications, which can be downloaded and printed. In most situations, people can mail these transactions without having to make a trip to DMV.
You are eligible to renew your license by mail if: you have not received traffic violations totaling more than five points in the last two years; your driver’s license is not suspended or subject to be suspended; or you are not applying for a commercial driver’s license.
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Driver’s license renewal by mail
June 16, 2000
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If you decide to renew by mail, DMV will use your digitized photograph and signature from your previous license. You can only use the picture for 10 years. After 10 years, you must get a new picture made. To renew by mail:
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