Beginning Thursday, December 30, 2021 at 7 pm, the Georgia Department of Revenue (DOR) will begin a system upgrade to the state’s DRIVES system (Driver Record and Integrated Vehicle Enterprise System) to improve efficiency and reduce operational costs. Due to the upgrade, Hall County Tax Commissioner Darla Eden announced that vehicle registrations and titling services, including e-Services and tag renewal kiosks, will be unavailable Thursday, December 30, 2021 at 7 pm through Monday, January 3, 2022. Tag office appointments will stop at 4 pm on December 30. The office will be open normal hours on Friday, December 31 for other services such as property tax payments, and will be closed on Monday, January 3 for the New Year’s holiday.
“We really want to encourage vehicle owners with expiration dates in late December and early January to renew prior to December 30, 2021 to avoid possible delays,” stated Eden.
The outage will have the following state-wide impacts:
- County Tag Offices and the Georgia Department of Revenue Motor Vehicle Division will be unable to process transactions.
- All online motor vehicle related services, including online tag renewal services, will be unavailable.
- Motor Vehicle Self Service Kiosks will be unavailable.
- Customers and auto dealers seeking to conduct any title transactions should complete their business at a county tag office prior to Thursday, December 30, 2021 at 5:00 p.m.
- Auto dealers will be able to initiate electronic title and registration (ETR) transactions and issue emergency temporary operating permits (TOPs) over New Year’s weekend.
- Law enforcement will still have access to motor vehicle records.
Eden also reminds Hall County residents that they can “save a trip, skip the line,” and renew their tags ahead of the Dec. 30 cutoff through these options:
- Renew online at eservices.drives.ga.gov
- Put a check in the mail or in an onsite drop box;
- Call or text the tax office for more personal service.
Vehicle owners can also renew their tag early and receive the decal instantly at one of two self-service kiosks at the New Holland Market Kroger on Jesse Jewell Parkway in Gainesville or the Clearwater Crossing Kroger on Spout Springs Road in Flowery Branch. Georgia has over 70 other tag kiosks throughout the state that only require a driver’s license, tag number or renewal notice.
For questions, contact the Tax Commissioner’s office at 770.531.6950 or tagoffice@hallcounty.org. More information is also available at www.hallcountytax.org.