NYS DMV resuming limited remote services

The New York State Department of Motor Vehicles is resuming limited remote services.

State-run DMV offices Albany, Onondaga, Nassau, Suffolk, Rockland and Westchester counties and the five boroughs of New York City began to process vehicle registrations and other transactions by mail, and beginning Thursday, will accept transactions through secure drop boxes located at each office.

County Clerks that operate DMV offices in the remaining 51 counties of the state, including Saratoga County and Rensselaer County, are advised to follow the state DMV’S timeline and guidance for reopening.

In addition, Commercial Driver License (CDL) road tests will begin to resume in all regions that are in at least Phase 1 of reopening. All road tests will be conducted with strict safety requirements in place; DMV road test examiners will wear gloves, face shields and have hand sanitizer, and customers must wear masks and will be screened prior to beginning the test.

For the safety of everyone at road test sites, all customers and accompanying drivers must wear face coverings and maintain six feet from other customers and staff whenever possible. Face coverings include cloth, surgical masks, N-95 respirators, or face shields.

Customers will also need to disinfect the passenger side of the vehicle with disinfectant wipes upon arrival.

Customers taking a road test will have their temperature taken and be screened for symptoms of COVID-19 and any known contacts with positive COVID-19 patients prior to beginning the test. Road tests will be rescheduled if a customer has a fever (temperature of 100 degrees or higher), is exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19 or has had recent, close contact with anyone who tested positive for COVID-19.

Customers should not report for their road test if they have been directed to quarantine, isolate or self-monitor at home for the COVID-19 by any doctor, hospital, or health agency; have been diagnosed with, or have had close contact with anyone diagnosed with COVID-19; or have flu-like symptoms or symptoms of the coronavirus.

Those whose road tests were canceled because of COVID-19 will be given priority for re

scheduling, and DMV staff started outreach to those customers on June 1. Reservations for other CDL customers will be available in the days following at dmv. ny.gov/schedule-road-test. Road tests and reservations for Class D (passenger vehicles) will not be available at this time.

When regions enter Phase 3 of reopening, DMV will offer limited in-person transactions in state-run DMV offices by reservation only, prioritizing critical services, and will resume road tests for all drivers at that time. Until then, there will be no in-person transactions in any DMV office and reservations will only become available as regions enter Phase 3.

Further guidance will be provided at the appropriate time.

“As New York State begins to reopen, the DMV has

and will continue to adapt the way it does business to ensure public health and safety are protected,” DMV Commissioner Mark J.F. Schroeder said in a press release. “As regions advance to phase 3 of reopening, we will expand customer service options, like offering limited in-person transactions by reservation only.

“These new policies will allow us to meet the needs of our customers while keeping everyone safe.”

DMV is expanding the ability for New Yorkers to complete necessary transactions by mail and drop box and will no longer offer these services in person: all original vehicle registrations and license plate transfers, license plate surrenders, sales tax only transactions, license and registration renewals (online option also available), replacement of lost documents (online option also available) and address changes (online option also available).

Beginning Thursday, secure drop boxes will be located

at all state-run DMV offices and available to customers during regular office hours Monday through Saturday. When dropping off documents, customers must wear a face covering, and only two customers will be allowed in the office at one time to access the drop box and must maintain proper social distancing at all times.

They should ensure their documents are filled out completely prior to bringing them to the DMV. All documents and instructions are available on www.dmv. ny.gov. Customer service representatives will not be available to assist with these transactions.

Customers will not be allowed to pick up their completed transactions. Once transactions are complete, a receipt, or license plates and registration documents, when applicable, will be returned to the customer by mail.

The DMV offers more than 60 transactions online , including select driver license

services, such as renewing or replacing a license; vehicle transactions, such as renewing or replacing a registration; requests for DMV records like crash reports or driving abstracts; personal services like changing an address and handling fines and fees.

All driver licenses, nondriver identification cards and vehicle registrations that expired March 1, 2020 or after and vehicle inspections that expired March 31 or after were previously extended and continue to be extended.

Customers need to pass a vision test to renew their license online. There are more than 6,000 providers enrolled in the DMV’S Vision Registry and approved to administer the vision test. Following the test, these providers enter the results online, saving the customer time when they visit the DMV website to renew their license.

A vision test from a Vision Registry provider is valid for one year.

Customers who have not had their vision checked by a Vision Registry provider can have their doctor or another medical professional complete a Vision Test Report, which the customer can use to complete the renewal process online.

Customers cannot upgrade to a REAL ID or Enhanced Driver License (EDL) without visiting a DMV office. For the health and safety of our customers and staff amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, DMV offices are not serving customers in person. While offices are closed for such

transactions, customers can renew their current license or non-driver ID online now and upgrade to a REAL ID or an EDL in a DMV office later.

Also due to COVID-19, the federal REAL ID enforcement deadline has been extended one year until October 1, 2021.

More information about the New York State DMV is available online at dmv. ny.gov.

For specific information about services offered by county-operated offices visit https://dmv.ny.gov/dmv/ dmv-office-locations.