DMV to allow most to renew licenses, IDs online or by mail

With a backlog in appointments at many Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles offices, officials are set to allow most renewals to be done online and to offer senior citizens a one-year renewal extension.

Because DMV offices statewide were closed for months during the early onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and have been operating at reduced capacity since reopening, motorists looking to take care of their expired documents have been met with appointment dates stretching into the fall.

Starting in the fall, most motorists will be able to renew their driver’s license or ID card online or by mail, the DMV announced Tuesday.

Drivers 65 and older, who are required to renew their license in person, have been granted a one-year extension on driver’s license renewals.

The DMV implemented the two new measures to allow 75,000 residents whose license or ID expires this year to avoid a visit to a DMV office during the coronavirus pandemic.

“Enabling drivers to skip the trip to the DMV not only helps them, it will help the DMV serve those who need car registrations or other services much more quickly,” DMV Director Julie Butler said in a statement. “Alternate license renewals will also have a lasting impact on the DMV as about 100,000 Nevadans will be eligible each year.”

Gov. Steve Sisolak signed emergency regulations to enact the new measures effective immediately. The DMV also plans to make the new regulations permanent.

The new regulation allows Nevadans who have held a valid state license or ID card for eight years to be able to renew using alternate services every other time, requiring them to visit a DMV office to renew in person only once every 16 years.

Renewed cards will be mailed using the customer’s photograph on file with the DMV.

Motorists who have had licenses or ID cards less than eight years, including instruction permits, immigrants with a limited-term license or ID, driver authorization cards, residents with certain medical conditions and sex offenders are not included in the new measures.

Drivers 65 and older must renew in person every four years, with seniors who have had an ID card for eight years eligible for the alternate renewals.

Although there is an extension in place, senior card holders are urged to try to renew their licenses on time.

The extension was created to allow seniors more time to schedule an appointment, and they will be exempt from late fees for one year.

Drivers are urged to print and carry an extension letter available on the DMV’s website with them when they drive until they have renewed their license.

Contact Mick Akers at makers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2920. Follow @mickakers on Twitter.