Extended Extensions At DMV

A Department of Motor Vehicles DMV brick building
Photo credit KatSnowden / iStock / Getty Images Plus

RICHMOND – Governor Ralph Northam has amended Executive Directive Seven (ED 7) to further extend the validity of credentials issued by the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to accommodate Virginians with expiring driver’s licenses, identification cards, and vehicle registrations. This extension provides up to an additional 90 days to renew these important credentials while DMV safely and carefully continues to reopen customer service centers with appointment-only service.

The Fourth Amended ED 7 extends the validity of every driver, vehicle, special identification, and driver credential due to expire on or before July 31, 2020, for up to an additional 90 days not to exceed October 31, 2020. This extension is in addition to the prior extension of up to 90 days not to exceed August 31, 2020.

March 15 and April 30: A customer whose credential expired between these dates will have an additional 90 days added to the prior 90 days, effectively 180 days, beyond the expiration date to renew.

Example: If a customer’s driver’s license expired on March 17, the initial 90-day extension would give them until June 15 to renew, and this new extension means that the license must be renewed by September 13.

 

May 1 and July 31: Those with credentials expiring between these dates will have up to 90 more days beyond the expiration date, for a total of up to 180 days, not to exceed October 31, 2020.

Example: For a customer whose credential has an expiration date of July 17, the initial extension gave that customer until August 31 to renew, and the new extension gives them until October 31.

 

After July 31st: If a credential expires after July 31st, it must be renewed before its expiration date.

Example: If a driver’s license expires August 2, it must be renewed by August 2.

 

ED 7, initially issued on March 17, 2020, directed the closure of DMV Customer Service Centers (CSCs), DMV 2 Go, and DMV Connect locations statewide effective March 18, 2020, as part of the Commonwealth’s response to mitigate the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) and its effects on Virginians. It was later amended to extend the validity of every driver, vehicle, special identification, and driver credential due to expire on or before July 31, 2020, for up to 90 days not to exceed August 31, 2020.

On May 15, the Commonwealth began easing the restrictions imposed related to the pandemic, and the DMV began a phased reopening of Customer Service Centers (CSC), DMV 2 Go, and DMV Connect locations to the public, with limited operations by appointment, on May 18, 2020. Offices across the Commonwealth are being reopened as quickly as appropriate safety precautions can be put in place to protect the health and wellbeing of customers and employees by enacting social distancing protocols and other best practices recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Virginia Department of Health. To date, 35 of the 75 DMV CSCs have reopened. For a complete list of locations accepting appointments, click here.

Reopened DMV offices are providing specific services that generally require an in-person visit. These transactions include original driver’s licenses and identification cards, original titles, original vehicle registrations, disabled parking permits, and vital records. Appointments are limited to one per customer, but customers can select an appointment time to conduct more than one transaction, if necessary. For a complete list of appointment services currently available, visit dmvNOW.com/appt. If a transaction can be conducted by another method, such as online or by mail, customers should use that method.

Beginning June 26, DMV will be offering three months of appointment availability in the system for each location. Each day, more appointments are added to the calendar. Please check dmvNOW.com/appt regularly to see new appointment availability. Customers are encouraged to schedule their appointments early. Customers should cancel appointments if they are unable to visit at their scheduled time so the appointment can be made available to others. Customers should arrive 10 minutes prior to their scheduled appointment; DMV may not be able to serve customers who arrive late for their appointments. Please note that, in an effort to combat the spread of COVID-19, effective Friday, May 29, 2020, per Executive Order Sixty-Three, the Commonwealth of Virginia requires Virginians to wear face coverings in public indoor settings. For the latest DMV information, visit dmvNOW.com/COVID19.