(HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Ned Lamont today announced that the Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) has launched a new website for the state agency (ct.gov/dmv) that streamlines all of the online services it offers in an effort to make completing transactions for customers easier, faster, and more convenient. The newly revamped website also contains several expanded language options, including Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish.
Additionally, the governor announced that in the coming weeks the DMV will be adding the ability for customers to conduct two more transactions online, including requesting refunds when canceling vehicle or vessel registrations, and replacing lost titles. Until now, those transactions could only be completed using paper forms. These new offerings will add to the DMV’s list of more than two dozen online services that have been added over the last several years, which include driver’s license renewals, vehicle and vessel registration renewals, updating addresses, and requesting driving records.
Governor Lamont said that it has been a priority of his administration to move more state government services online – including those from the DMV – so that Connecticut residents can skip in-person visits to state offices, as well as the need to submit paper forms through the U.S. Mail.
Average customer wait times at DMV offices have significantly decreased over the last several years following the implementation of several new policies and procedures. In 2018, the average wait time at these offices was more than an hour. Today it is less than 15 minutes.
“Sitting around at a DMV office waiting to conduct a transaction is frustrating, and I’ve been determined to implement policies that make interacting with this agency more convenient and less time consuming,” Governor Lamont said. “Each time we’ve launched a new online feature, we’ve seen a corresponding decline in the number of in-person visits people are making to DMV offices, which also results in wait times being shortened for those who actually do need to conduct transactions in person. Connecticut residents deserve a state government that is dedicated to changing with new technology and making transactions as easy as possible.”
The DMV worked closely with the Connecticut Department of Administrative Services to implement the website upgrades.
“The DMV’s modernization efforts strive to create a digital experience for Connecticut residents, rooted in what customers value,” DMV Commissioner Sibongile Magubane said. “We refreshed our entire website, making it easier for customers to locate the information they need within just a few clicks.”
“Our team has been laser focused on moving services online to best align with Governor Lamont’s vision for a digital government,” DMV Deputy Commissioner Tony Guerrera said. “DMV will continue to identify opportunities for improvement that make it easier for residents to access our services.”
Over the last several years, the Lamont administration has implemented several new policies to streamline services at the DMV and reduce wait times at its offices. Some of these include:
- In June 2019, Governor Lamont signed into law legislation he proposed that reduces the frequency residents are required to visit the DMV by requiring driver’s licenses to be renewed every eight years rather than every six years as the law previously required.
- In June 2020, the DMV moved to an appointment-only system that requires customers who plan on visiting an office in-person to schedule a specific time and location to complete their transaction – a move that has significantly helped decrease wait times.
- In February 2021, the DMV added the ability to renew driver’s licenses and non-driver ID cards online.
- In March 2021, the DMV added the ability to request duplicate driver’s licenses, request duplicate non-driver IDs, and request driving history online.
- In June 2021, Governor Lamont announced that the number of customers choosing to renew their licenses over the internet began outpacing the number of renewals being completed in-person at DMV offices, demonstrating that the choice to renew licenses online has become the preferred method for Connecticut residents.
The DMV’s website is located at ct.gov/dmv.
