Drivers can renew licenses by mail, avoid lines

COLUMBUS - Hoping to eliminate the hours-long wait that some Georgia residents have endured to renew their driver&#39;s licenses, the state launched a new program today that will let drivers accomplish the task by mail. <br> <br> The first renewal applications went out by U-S mail about 2:30 p-m from the campus of T-S-Y-S, a subsidiary of the Columbus-based financial services company Synovus. State government established a partnership with Synovus to implement the new program, which officials say will send out an estimated 18-thousand to 25-thousand renewal applications each week. <br> <br> Georgians with birthdays in July will be the first to have an opportunity to use the mail-in program, which was created by legislation passed last month. <br> <br> The new law is part of a broader push by Governor Barnes and other state officials to improve licensing procedures and eliminate horror stories of day-long waits at crowded customer service centers. <br> <br> In the program launched today, drivers can renew by mail every other time their licenses expire. A license is valid for four years, so licensed drivers could go eight years without having to visit a D-M-V-S office -- unless address or name changes are necessary. <br> <br> A renewal application will be sent to each qualified Georgia driver about 60 days before the current license expires -- provided the person has a current photo, signature, fingerprint and address on file and no active or pending suspensions. <br> <br> Internet renewals will begin in July for residents with birthdays in September or after.

http://accesswdun.com/article/2002/5/195243