Forget about getting a new driver's license in Alabama for a while: The state is temporarily shutting down all its licensing offices for a technology upgrade.
The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency said it will close driver's license offices statewide beginning Monday to update a computer system that’s been used for almost 20 years. The agency plans to reopen the offices on April 26.
State law has a 60-day grace period for license renewals, and Etowah County Probate Judge Scott Hassell said he expects officials to forgive people whose license expires during the shutdown.
“We wanted to get the word out just so people will know what is going on,” he told The Gadsden Times.
Besides new computer hardware, data on file since 1970 will be converted into the new Alabama Law Enforcement Agency Driver License System, the state said in a news release.
While neither in-person nor online services will be available to the public during the transition, state examiners will continue to administer road tests for regular and commercial licenses. County offices will be open only for revenue and probate services.
“We understand that it may cause an inconvenience to some citizens that will not have full access of the driver license division’s resources and capabilities, but we assure everyone the result will be impressive, providing significant improvements for both citizens as well as driver license employees across the state,” Hal Taylor, head of the state police agency, said in a statement.
Colorado-based Fast Enterprises, a technology company, is working on the new system, which will let applicants enter information before arriving at an office, officials said. It will also allow users to update personal information through an online system.
