More than 960,000 motor vehicle renewal notices were mailed across Kentucky with a March 2024 expiration date. For comparison, there were just more than 600,000 for January and February combined. Facing an increasing workload, the Kentucky County Clerks Association (KCCA) is asking customers for continued patience and preparation as clerks still face issues with the state’s new registration system.
According to a release KCCA, March is the busiest month of the year in the County Clerks’ motor vehicle departments. The month includes renewals for all farm tags, campers, trailers, March birthdays, fleets, and heavyweight plates; it’s also the start of boat renewal season.
In December, it was announced that the state would transition to a new vehicle registration system known as KAVIS (Kentucky Automated Vehicle Information System). Clerks’ offices were temporarily closed at the start of the new year, and in the weeks following there were numerous problems leading to long waits and issues completing transactions.
The KCCA release said there are still significant delays and problematic transactions.
“KCCA leadership has expressed our concerns and frustrations with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) on behalf of our customers and our motor vehicle staff,” the release reads. “KYTC shared that the KAVIS team is working seven days a week to correct the programming errors that continue to plague the KAVIS system. In addition, too often, inconsistent information is being shared with County Clerks by KYTC’s Motor Vehicle Licensing Division (MVL) about transactions, potential workarounds, and even MVL’s level of assistance with problematic transactions. This only slows down service for our customers.”
Tabatha Clemons, Grant County Clerk and KCCA President, said while many KAVIS bugs have been corrected, “County Clerks are still struggling with the remaining bugs, which too often results in customers being forced to make multiple trips to try to complete transactions or lengthy wait times.”
She continued, “We appreciate our many customers who have shown us grace and patience when conducting business in their County Clerk’s Office, and we will continue to provide meaningful feedback to KYTC in hopes of improving our customers’ experiences. We all agree that once the software is fully operational, it will be a wonderful system, however, the status quo of long lines and too many customers forced to make multiple trips is not acceptable.”
KCCA is requesting customers to be as prepared as possible when they visit their County Clerk. They suggested following these steps to make a visit more efficient:
- Bring your driver’s license or state-issued identification card.
- Bring your renewal notice and the previous year’s registration.
- Bring your Kentucky proof of insurance printed, or refer to your County Clerk if there is an insurance email address or fax number available for your county.
- Be prepared to wait longer than normal. It takes time to work through each customer’s account and merge vehicles for each customer.
- Check your County Clerk’s holiday hours for March 29 and March 30.
- For any transaction by mail, online, or drop-off, include a contact phone number so you can be reached.
- KYTC’s web portal drive.ky.gov is available for renewals with verified proof of insurance and the customer is current with all taxes owed.
