By Jessica Mathews / news@whmi.com


Livingston County residents and others across the state will have access to expanded services through the Secretary of State’s office starting next month.

New options will be available in March to let customers do more business at self-service stations and online. People will be able to renew their standard and enhanced driver’s licenses and state ID cards at self-service stations and online. They’ll also be able to go online to request their personal driving records and when eligible, add a motorcycle endorsement to their license. Customers can also request an ID replacement or add their name to the organ donor registry.

As for other changes, an electronic lien and title program will begin in the spring, the graduated driver licensing process will be simplified to help reduce customer visits to branch offices and mechanic testing registration will be available online to mechanics that have a Michigan driver’s license or ID.

The changes are tied to a long-desired technology re-haul of the driver-record database, which has been taking place since 2019. Department of State Spokeswoman Tracy Wimmer tells WHMI it’s been a long time coming and work has been taking place for quite some time to get the new system integrated and online. She says it’s partially to help cut down on wait times but also to make transactions easier because there’s really no reason a lot of things need to be conducted in person anymore and they want to make sure drivers have as many options as possible. Wimmer said a lot of the options are already options offered online but they’ll now be offered at the self-service stations. She noted the requirements haven’t changed for when people need to conduct certain transactions in person, so these will largely be for situations where a person was already eligible to renew something online, and now they can be done at self-service stations. Meanwhile, a renewal notice design overhaul has already taken place and notices are now color-coded depending on what transaction someone is eligible for.

There are currently more than 130 self-service stations around the state. Locally, there are stations located at the Secretary of State branch offices in Howell, Chelsea, and Highland – as well as the Meijer stores in Howell and Wixom. All accept credit card payments and some accept cash. A complete listing is available on the Secretary of State website. That link is provided.