HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020-03-22 Kona and Waimea DMV Offices Closed on Monday, March 23, other information -- press release
Roy Takemoto
Managing Director
Harry Kim
Mayor
Barbara J. Kossow
Deputy Managing Director
County of Hawai‘i
Office of the Mayor
25 Aupuni Street, Suite 2603 Hilo, Hawai‘i 96720 (808) 961-8211 Fax (808) 961-6553
KONA: 74-5044 Ane Keohokālole Hwy., Bldg C Kailua-Kona, Hawai‘i 96740
(808) 323-4444 Fax (808) 323-4440
March 22, 2020
News Release
Vehicle Registration & Licensing Offices in Kona and Waimea Closed March 23
The Vehicle Registration & Licensing (VRL) offices at the West Hawai‘i Civic Center (WHCC)
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and in Waimea will be closed on Monday, March 23. The WHCC VRL office is expected to be
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open on Tuesday, March 24. Please check our website to confirm. Please anticipate that
limited service may be offered for the next two weeks at most of our offices.
To minimize the potential spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) within Hawai‘i County, there are
alternate ways to renew your vehicle registration or driver’s license that do not require an in-
person visit:
Vehicle registration renewals:
o Mail in renewals: (2) use the online application forms: or
o Visit our kiosks.
Mail-in renewals can be sent to County of Hawai‘i, Motor Vehicle Registration, 101 Pauahi
St., #5, Hilo, HI 96720. Online renewal applications can be found on our County website at:
https://mvr.ehawaii.gov/renewals/lookup.html?county=hawaii. Our kiosks are located at the
Safeway stores in Hilo and Kona, as well as at Foodland in Waimea.
Driver’s License or State ID’s renewals (issued after May 1, 2014) can be mailed in
to 349 Kapi‘olani St., Hilo, HI 96720. Duplicate license requests will also be accepted
by mail. Please see our website at www.hawaiicounty.gov/departments/finance/vehicle-
registration-licensing for application details and forms. License-holders who are 72 or
older and renewed on or after January 1, 2018 may also renew by mail. Eligible
applicants may request a renewal by mail packet through email to:
renewals@hawaiicounty.gov. The mail-in renewal option will also be available for
people aged 72 and older who were issued a state ID on or after May 1, 2014. The
state ID is good for eight years.
What is your County government doing to help?
We are offering 60-day automatic extension for driver’s licenses, state IDs, and learner’s
permits that are expiring in March, April, or May 2020 (valid in Hawai‘i only).
We are offering extended hours of operation, including several Saturday dates, once the
COVID-19 crisis has passed.
County of Hawai‘i is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer.
Page Two
VRL Closures, etc. March 23, 2020
We recognize that getting a “Gold Star” compliant driver’s license or state ID is important to
many of you wanting to be able to travel after October 1, 2020; however, please be aware there
are several other types of identification that TSA will accept.
These include:
US Passport or US Passport Card
DHS Trusted Traveler Card (Global Entry, Nexus, Sentri, Fast)
US Department of Defense ID (including ID’s issued to dependents)
Permanent Resident Card
Border Crossing Card
DHS Designated Enhanced Driver’s License
Federally Recognized Tribal-Issued Card
HSPS-12 PIV Card, Foreign Government-Issued Passport
Canadian Provincial Driver’s License
Indian and Northern Affairs Canada Card
Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC)
US Citizenship and Immigration Services Employment Authorization Card (1-766)
US Merchant Mariner Credential.
Be advised that TSA has revised their current policy, and are accepting expired Driver’s
Licenses and State ID’s, so long as they haven’t been expired for more than 90 days.
The interior lobbies of all our Vehicle Registration & Licensing offices will be restricted to only
those customers that are performing transactions at the window. All customers waiting to be
serviced will need to wait outside the lobbies and adhere to social distancing norms. The
recommended spacing between customers is 6 feet apart. We will be moving to an
appointment system in the near future.
Additionally, we highly encourage the following courtesies to fellow customers:
While you can legally renew your driver’s licenses or state ID within 6 months of the
expiration, please consider renewing only if it’s expired or will be expiring within the next
21 days, so that we can prioritize service to those with the most urgent renewal needs.
If you happen to be in a line outside one of our offices, please try to allow adequate
spacing for “social distancing” between customers.
If you are not feeling well or have recently traveled anywhere outside Hawai‘i, please
make sure you’ve completed a minimum of 14 days of self-isolation and have no flu-like
symptoms before scheduling an in-person office visit.
Please consider postponing special requests, such as ordering customized “vanity”
license plates.
For further information, please call the Vehicle Registration and Licensing Division at 961-8351.
County of Hawai`i is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer.