Some services available and grace period granted while Motor Vehicle services down

Despite the Montana Department of Motor Vehicles being shut down for computer upgrades, people will still be able to do some work online and will have a grace period for renewals.

Driver Services Bureau Chief Rebecca Conners said the Montana Motor Vehicle Division in Helena will be closed Friday, Nov. 20, through Friday, Nov. 27, to allow for major system updates.

Despite the shut down renewals will be given a three-month grace period.

People will be able to renew driver’s licenses online or mail in paperwork for driver’s license renewal while the system is down, Connors said.

“We are integrating our driver’s license program that manages our vehicle registrations,” she said. “So we will be closed for a little bit to allow for that conversion, and give our employees time to adapt to that new system. We hope to be in full production fairly quickly.”

The systems that are being implemented are going to upgrade from a mainframe system that was built in the 1990s to a more Windows-based system that currently manages the vehicle registration, Connors said.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, drivers have a three-month grace period to renew their license.

“Under the governor’s order, as long as that is in effect, this state of emergency, we do give drivers some grace during that period,” Connors said.

She added that people can renew their driver’s license even while the department is closed.

Right now, drivers can renew their license online without uploading a medical or eye evaluation, just a photocopy of their drivers license.

People can also do a lot with their vehicle registration online as well, Connors said.

Vehicle Services Bureau Chief Joann Loehr said registration will be down during the upgrade, but people can make appointments or drop off or mail paperwork to their local treasurer to be completed when the system is back up.

“We are hoping by the 25th we will be able to accommodate walk-in traffic if it’s available, but by Nov. 30, we should be scaling back up to production,” Connors said.

For more information people can visit http://www.dojmt.gov/driving to find information on COVID-19 updates and available extensions.