With New York State’s regions re-opening in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, the state has given clarification about the status of the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) for eager motorists. The full guidance is available here.
Re-Opening:
- Beginning June 1st, state-run DMV offices in the counties of Albany, Onondaga, Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, and the five boroughs of New York City will begin to process registrations and other transactions by mail.
- Beginning June 4th 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 are advised to follow the State DMV’s timeline and guidance for reopening.
Expired Documents:
- Driver licenses, non-driver 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.
- Vehicle registrations and vehicle safety and emission inspections that expired between March 1, 2020, and August 31, 2020, are extended for three months from expiration date shown on the document
Mail-in Transactions:
- All vehicle registrations and plate transfers
- The original title must be mailed. Best to send packages together. Be sure to copy all documents to keep as a backup.
- License plate surrenders
- Sales tax only transactions
- License and registration renewals (online option is available)
- Replacement of lost documents (online option available)
- Address change (online option available)
Road Tests:
- Commercial Driver License (CDL) road tests will resume in all regions that are in at least phase 1 of the State’s reopening plan and all other road tests will resume when regions enter Phase 3
- Customers whose CDL road tests were canceled because of COVID-19 will be given priority when rescheduling
- Permit tests for commercial drivers will be offered as regions advance to phase 3 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 sanitizers, and you must wear masks and will be screened prior to beginning the test
- Face coverings must be worn at the road test site
- Face coverings include cloth (e.g. homemade sewn, quick cut, bandanna), surgical masks, N-95 respirators, or face shields.
- All customers, and the driver you bring to the road test, are required to wear masks and maintain 6 feet from other customers and staff whenever possible.
- 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.
Do NOT Appear for a Road Test If You:
- 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.
Leave a Reply