By Eric Jorgensen
The mission of the ADOT Motor Vehicle Division is to get Arizona out of line and safely on the road and over the past several years we’ve made great strides doing that. But there’s another step to take, and it will cause a brief, but profound disruption to our services.
Starting at 5 p.m. on Friday, April 17 through Tuesday, April 21, MVD will be shutting down every part of our operations. This includes MVD offices, ServiceArizona.com and the MVD services we provide through Authorized Third Party offices.
Simply put, nobody in Arizona will be able to use MVD for any purpose during this time.
Why are we doing this?
The computer system that MVD relies on for its basic operations goes back more than 35 years – an eternity for technology. For nearly five years, we have been working to develop and install a brand-new state-of-the-art system.
This technology can’t be installed in segments. It has to be brought in at once, and it has to be tested again and again before we re-open to the public.
As you’re probably aware, our services to the public have had to change somewhat during the current health situation. We’ve had to limit our office services to those things that are essential and must be done in person.
That list is actually pretty small because with the health crisis, anyone whose driver license expires between March 1 and September 1 automatically has that expiration date extended by six months and no office visit is needed. Also, the REAL ID deadline that impacts the AZ Travel ID, has been moved back a full year to October 1, 2021, easing the need for office visits that much more.
Even with these changes, we realize the shutdown of all MVD services for a few days is an inconvenience and we appreciate your patience.
But once we’re back in business, you will find a lot more services available to you on your secure, personal AZ MVD Now account. You can access this directly at www.azmvdnow.gov or through www.ServiceArizona.com.
Every current MVD customer already has an AZ MVD Now account waiting to be activated. Right now, it’s limited to a few services such as basic title transfers, the Permit Test @ Home, getting a prepaid voucher and a few other things. Setting up an account is easy and free.
With the new system, AZ MVD Now will increase the number of services offered to more than 30, including registration renewal, refund requests, vehicle title status and some transfers, vehicle payment summary, appointment scheduling, buying a prepaid voucher and a lot more.
You can learn more about these changes at www.azdot.gov/MVD.