Vehicle Registration Now Available Online in Montana

Attorney General Steve Bullock on Friday announced that Montana citizens can now go online to renew their vehicle registration. Prior to the online service, citizens had to renew their vehicle registration in person at their county treasurer’s office or by mail.

"This new online service will allow citizens to conduct business whenever it is most convenient for them, even if that’s at 10 p.m. or 5 a.m." Bullock said. "The Department of Justice is committed to improving the services it provides through the Motor Vehicle Division and that means making the most of new technology."

Through the new Vehicle Registration Renewal Service, citizens can renew the registration for any type of vehicle online, provided the vehicle is eligible for renewal and the transaction doesn’t require any additional paperwork. Most vehicles are eligible for renewal one month before their registration expiration date through the grace period, shown under the "RENEW BY" date printed at the top of renewal cards.

This service allows Montanans to renew their vehicle’s registration, or multiple vehicle registrations, by entering either the title number, vehicle identification number (VIN) or vehicle number. Circumstances under which renewals must be done in person are explained on the service instructions page (https://app.mt.gov/vrr/instruct.html), and include if someone needs to change an address or vehicle information, or wants to get a different license plate.

Brenda Nordlund, acting administrator of the Motor Vehicle Division, encouraged Montanans who need to renew their vehicle registration this month to use the online renewal option or to mail in their vehicle’s registration renewal rather than showing up in person at their county treasurer’s office.

According to Nordlund, county offices and the Title and Registration Bureau in Deer Lodge are experiencing some delays due to the April 21 introduction of a new computer system for titling and registering vehicles. In addition to the usual challenges associated with any change of this magnitude, MVD and county treasurers’ offices are also coping with a variety of unrelated circumstances, including a router malfunction that affected Cascade and Chouteau counties and weather-related office closures.

"Rather than risking a long wait in line or being turned away, we are encouraging people to go to the Internet or mail in their renewals," Nordlund said. "That will reduce frustration and give everyone time to catch up from the typical end-of-the-month renewal rush."

The Vehicle Registration Renewal Service is the result of an alliance between state government and the private sector. It was cooperatively developed and is supported by the Montana Department of Justice, Motor Vehicle Division, the Montana Department of Administration’s Information Technology Services Division, and Montana Interactive, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of eGovernment provider NIC (Nasdaq: EGOV).

The Vehicle Registration Renewal Service can be found at https://app.mt.gov/vrr, or through the state web site at http://www.mt.gov and the Department of Justice web site at http://www.doj.mt.gov/driving.

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Vehicle registration slowed by new software

By MATT HAGENGRUBER
Of The Gazette Staff

A new software program is forcing waits of more than two hours at the Yellowstone County Courthouse to register their vehicles.

By 11 a.m. Friday morning, people were spread out across the first-floor lobby of the courthouse, while another group stood in a tight line waiting to renew their registrations. That line moved much faster, with each transaction taking about two minutes. Still, that’s twice as long as it used to take, employees said. There isn’t too much of a line early in the morning, but things are worse on Fridays and during the middle of the day, the employees said.

Full Story: http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2009/05/01/news/local/20-software.txt