Virginia DMV opening up more customer service centers next week
As the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) continues gradually reopening across Virginia, several more customer service centers, including in the Shenandoah Valley, will be opening back up next week.
Starting on June 15, the DMV will reopen the following four locations in the same way the rest of the DMV centers are running: by appointment only and for specific services that can only be conducted in-person.
Each of these locations will be open Monday through Friday 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. and Saturday 8 a.m. - noon.
• Christiansburg (385 Arbor Drive, Christiansburg, VA 24073)
• Farmville (300 North Virginia Street, Farmville, VA 23901)
• Waynesboro (998 Hopeman Parkway, Waynesboro, VA 22980)
• Woodstock (714-A North Main Street, Woodstock, VA 22664)
Those customer service centers will join the following locations around the state that are open Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.:
• Richmond Central (2300 West Broad Street, Richmond, VA 23269)
• Arlington (4150 South Four Mile Run Drive, Arlington, VA 22206)
• Franconia (6306 Grovedale Drive, Alexandria, VA 22310)
• Leesburg (945 Edwards Ferry Road NE, Leesburg, VA 20176)
• Prince William/Manassas (11270 Bulloch Drive, Manassas, VA 20109)
• Tysons Corner (1968 Gallows Road, Vienna, VA 22182)
• Lynchburg (3236 Odd Fellows Road, Lynchburg, VA 24501)
• Newport News (12730 Patrick Henry Drive, Newport News, VA 23602)
• Portsmouth (6400 Bickford Parkway, Portsmouth, VA 23703)
• Charlottesville (2055 Abbey Road, Charlottesville, VA 22911)
• Chesterfield (610 Johnston Willis Drive, Richmond, VA 23236)
• Fredericksburg (5700 Southpoint Centre Boulevard, Fredericksburg, VA 22407)
• Hampton (8109 Roanoke Avenue, Hampton, VA 23605)
• Harrisonburg (3281 Peoples Drive, Harrisonburg, VA 22801)
• Roanoke (5220 Valleypark Drive, Roanoke, VA 24019)
• Virginia Beach/Buckner (3551 Buckner Boulevard, Virginia Beach, VA 23453)
These locations are open Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.:
• Onancock (20 North Street, Onancock, VA 23417)
• Emporia (103 Commonwealth Boulevard, Emporia, VA 23847)
• Tazewell (1151 Tazewell Avenue, Tazewell, VA 24651)
• Abingdon (25552 Lee Highway, Abingdon, VA 24211)
• South Boston (2039 Hamilton Boulevard, South Boston, VA 24592)
All weigh stations, initially closed during the pandemic, have resumed operations as well.
License and registration extensions
The DMV has also extended the validity of driver's licenses and other forms of identification that have expired for Virginians amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the DMV, all driver's licenses and identification cards expiring on or before July 31, 2020, get extensions, to August 31 at the latest.
Any customer whose credential expired between March 15 and May 31 gets 90 days from the expiration date to renew, and credentials expiring from June 1 to July 31 have until August 31 to get renewed.
Vehicle registrations that expire in March, April, and May are also extended for 90 days. Those expiring in June are extended for 60 days and those expiring in July are extended for 30 days.
Booking an in-person appointment
Anyone wishing to book an appointment for any of the offices that are open can do so online at dmvNOW.com/appt.
According to the DMV, Virginians have booked more than 196,000 appointments through their system since its launch on May 13.
From each current day, they offer one month of appointment availability in the system for each customer service center, with more appointments added to the calendar each day.
All of the offices are running on temporary, extended hours, by appointment only, only for services that require going to the DMV in person.
Transactions they're handling include:
• Original driver’s licenses and identification cards
• Original titles
• Original vehicle registrations
• Disabled parking permits
• Vital records
Other options
If any transaction can be conducted online or by mail, the DMV says customers need to use that method. You can find a complete list of the limited services available at DMV offices at https://www.dmv.virginia.gov/general/#appointments.asp.
You also have the ability to conduct business in-person by visiting a DMV Connect team or DMV Select partner location.
DMV Connect cannot conduct vital records transactions, testing (including knowledge and road tests), or HAZMAT fingerprinting.
The DMV’s reopening plan
As time goes on, the DMV is gradually reopening offices across Virginia as they're able to put appropriate precautions into place.
As part of the phased reopening plan, the DMV will limit the number of customers and employees in each location to ensure social distancing protocols are followed.
Service windows at DMV locations have partitions between the employees and customers, seating will be limited and spaced, and customers will be asked to stay in their cars until 10 minutes before their appointment time.
You can find a full rundown of the plan here.
In addition, the federal enforcement date for REAL IDs was moved to October 1, 2021.
For the latest from the DMV, you can click here.
