The Sedgwick County Vehicle Tag Office in E. Wichita at Kellogg & Edgemoor is closing at the end of the business day on Thursday; the county is moving forward with consolidating locations because of a lack of funding from the state of Kansas.
The County Commission voted last month for the consolidation, shifting customer traffic needing to register or renew vehicles to the tag office west of downtown Wichita at Douglas & Meridian.
There are also three satellite locations in the county as well: in W. Wichita at Kellogg & Tyler; Derby; and City Hall in Park City.
All this comes as computer outages, long lines, and staffing shortages have created some lengthy wait times; county tag offices have seen a 400% increase in foot-traffic since last year.
The county said that’s mostly because of rules surrounding personalized license plates.
A state statute says personalized plates must be replaced every five years. The county said because we’re in the five-year cycle, everyone with a personalized plate has to replace them in person.
One day earlier this week, the line outside the door at the tag office on W. Douglas started forming at about 3:00 a.m.
As of Wednesday, the process for a tag renewal takes about 15 minutes. But registering a new vehicle or getting a personalized plate has been taking longer.
That’s why the tag office suggests getting in the virtual online queue to reserve your spot so you don’t have to wait in person.
If you’re unable to reserve your spot through the virtual queue at first, keep checking throughout the day as appointments could open up.