FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  July 8, 2002
NEWS FROM: Director’s Office  02-012

250,000th NEVADAN MOUSE CLICKS HER WAY TO FIRST IN LINE AT DMV

It was early on a Tuesday after a long weekend and Kathryn Blanchard of Fernley had to renew the registration on the Harley Davidson motorcycle she gave her husband, George, as a wedding present.

“We live 30 miles from Reno and 30 miles from Fallon,” she said.  “Just getting to the DMV can be a nightmare because it’s so far.”  So, just before 7 a.m., she booted up her computer, renewed the motorcycle registration at www.dmvnv.com and became the 250,000^th Nevadan to breeze through a DMV transaction without having to visit an office.

 “I tried about 6 a.m.,” she said, “and I couldn’t get on the Web site.  So I paid my insurance on line and then went back to try again.  I got on and in three or four minutes I had the renewal done.  I already knew about the Web site because I did my driver license this year in April.  I noticed it on the mailer.”

The DMV’s Web site is just part of what the department calls “alternative technology” and it’s ideal for drivers living in rural parts of the state, according to DMV director Ginny Lewis.

“What alternative technology is about,” said Lewis, “is giving motorists choices as to how they do business with the department.”

In April of 2000, eligible Nevada drivers began renewing their vehicle registration at some emission stations and renewing their driver license or vehicle registration by calling 877-DMV-STAT (368-7828).  A month after those programs were launched, the DMV began offering vehicle registration and driver license renewals to eligible drivers on its Web site.

“In the first year,” Lewis said, “about 96,000 motorists chose alternative technology over a visit to an office.  Now, a little over two years down the road, to hit the quarter-million user mark tells me it’s becoming the preferred choice for more and more Nevada drivers.”

Lewis said recent enhancements to the Web site have made the process even easier.  “We’ve added two more credit cards,” she said, “so now you can pay your fees with Discover and American Express as well as Visa and Mastercard.”

It’s also possible to calculate fees and renew your vehicle registration even after it has expired, according to Lewis.  “Of course,” she said, “late fees still apply.”

-- 30 --