CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Just two weeks after the N.C. Division of Motor Vehicles (NCDMV) announced expanded online renewal options for driver licenses, more than 18,000 North Carolinians have successfully renewed their licenses online for a second time.
This surge in usage follows the implementation of Senate Bill 245, signed into law by Gov. Josh Stein on Sept. 30.
On Oct. 7, NCDMV announced that eligible drivers without a REAL ID-compliant license were able to renew online for a second consecutive time, reducing the need for in-person visits and helping to alleviate wait times at DMV offices statewide. Prior to this change, all drivers were required to complete an in-person renewal if they had renewed online last time.
Late last week, a second consecutive online renewal for REAL ID licenses was added for drivers that have visited an office for a transaction and had a new photo taken since their last renewal. For many customers, that in-person transaction was to get a REAL ID, but it could also have been for a name change, getting a commercial driver license, adding an endorsement to a license, or an in-person address change or duplicate for a lost ID.
Other provisions of Senate Bill 245 will be rolled out in the coming weeks and months. In two weeks, NCDMV expects to make online upgrades available for teen drivers to advance from a Level 2 limited provisional license (“before 9s”) to a Level 3 full provisional license (“after 9s”). Before the end of the year, State ID cards will also be able to be renewed online like driver licenses as described above.
This online service expansion is projected to enable up to 400,000 additional online transactions annually when fully implemented. For more information on eligibility and to renew online, visit NCDMV.gov.
