The New York State Department of Motor Vehicles announced that beginning Monday, June 1, state-run DMV offices in the counties of Albany, Onondaga, Nassau, Suffolk, Rockland, Westchester and the five boroughs of New York City will begin to process vehicle registrations and other transactions by mail, and beginning June 4, 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.
For specific information about services offered by county-operated offices visit https://dmv.ny.gov/dmv/dmv-office-locations.
In addition, Commercial Driver License (CDL) road tests will begin to resume in all regions that are in at least phase 1 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 sanitizer, and customers must wear masks and will be screened prior to beginning the test. Customers whose road tests were canceled because of COVID-19 will be given priority for rescheduling, and DMV staff will begin outreach to those customers on June 1. Reservations for other CDL customers will be available in the days fllowing at: https://dmv.ny.gov/schedule-road-test. Road tests and reservations for Class D (passenger vehicles) will not be available at this time.
As regions enter phase 3 of reopening, DMV will offer limited in-person transactions in state-run DMV offices by reservation only, prioritizing critical services, and will resume road tests for all drivers at that time. Until then, there will be no in-person transactions in any DMV office and reservations will only become available as regions enter phase 3. Further guidance will be provided at the appropriate time.
Extension of Expired Documents. All 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.
Mail-In and Drop-Box Transactions. DMV is expanding the ability for New Yorkers to complete necessary transactions by mail and drop box and will no longer offer these services in person including: All original vehicle registrations and license plate transfers, License plate surrenders, Sales tax only transactions, License and registration renewals (online option also available), Replacement of lost documents (online option also available), Address change (online option also available).
Beginning June 4, secure drop boxes will be located at all state-run DMV offices and available to customers during regular office hours Monday through Saturday, which can be found at https://dmv.ny.gov/dmv/dmv-office-locations. When dropping off documents, customers must wear a face covering, and only two customers will be allowed in the office at one time to access the drop box and must maintain proper social distancing at all times. They should ensure their documents are filled out completely prior to bringing them to the DMV. All documents and instructions are available on www.dmv.ny.gov. Customer service representatives will not be available to assist with these transactions.
Customers will not be allowed to pick up their completed transactions. Once transactions are complete, a receipt, or license plates and registration documents, when applicable, will be returned to the customer by mail.
Customers who wish to register a vehicle should complete the DMV online registration checklist before mailing or dropping off their documents.
Instructions for returning license plates by mail can be found on the DMV website at https://dmv.ny.gov/registration/how-surrender-return-or-turn-your-plates-dmv.
To find out where to mail transactions visit: https://dmv.ny.gov/dmv/dmv-office-locations.
Online Transactions. The DMV offers more than 60 transactions online making it fast and convenient for all New Yorkers to complete their business with the DMV. The following services continue to be offered online: select driver license services, such as renewing or replacing a license, vehicle transactions, such as renewing or replacing a registration, reqests for DMV records like crash reports or driving abstracts, personal services like changing an address, handling fines and fees, including to plead or pay New York City traffic tickets and paying other civil penalties
Customers need to pass a vision test to renew their license online.
There are more than 6,000 providers enrolled in the DMV’s Vision Registry and approved to administer the vision test. Following the test, these providers enter the results online, saving the customer time when they visit the DMV website to renew their license. A vision test from a Vision Registry provider is valid for one year.
Customers who have not had their vision checked by a Vision Registry provider can have their doctor or another medical professional complete a Vision Test Report, which the customer can use to complete the renewal process online.
Customers cannot upgrade to a REAL ID or Enhanced Driver License (EDL) without visiting a DMV office. For the health and safety of our customers and staff amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, DMV offices are not serving customers in person. While offices are closed for such transactions, customers can renew their current license or non-driver ID online now and upgrade to a REAL ID or an EDL in a DMV office later. Also due to COVID-19, the federal REAL ID enforcement deadline has been extended one year until October 1, 2021.
Road Tests-For the safety of everyone at road test sites, all customers and accompanying drivers must wear face coverings and maintain 6 feet from other customers and staff whenever possible. Face coverings include cloth (e.g. homemade sewn, quick cut, bandanna), surgical masks, N-95 respirators, or face shields. 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. For more information about DMV, visit https://dmv.ny.gov/.
