County Clerk statewide offices will temporarily pause in-person and online motor and vessel-related services in early January to accommodate the transition to a new vehicle information database. State officials said the suspension of services starts January 1 and is expected to last 4-10 business days and may cause longer wait times when services resume in January.
Services unavailable during the migration include vehicle and boat registration renewals, vehicle and boat titling and transfers, disabled parking permit issuance, and license plate issuance.
Vehicle owners due to renew in December are encouraged to do so early before holiday closures.
Administered by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC), the state’s 40-year-old legacy system AVIS (Automated Vehicle Information System) will sunset this year, and the 7th and final module of the new KAVIS (Kentucky Automated Vehicle Information System) will be fully integrated by early January. The system upgrade is a part of KYTC’s commitment to enhancing operational efficiencies within the Department of Vehicle Regulation, the Division of Motor Vehicle Licensing and County Clerks’ offices throughout the state.
“This launch represents the culmination of years of behind-the-scenes work to modernize our robust system to better serve Kentuckians,” said Department of Vehicle Regulation Commissioner Matt Cole. “KAVIS will streamline processes, improve customer service and enhance overall efficiency.”
A statewide break of services is necessary to allow for an optimal transfer of more than 350 million records, a release from KYTC said. The move to KAVIS will not impact driver license issuance at Driver Licensing Regional Offices.
“It was necessary to migrate this final phase of KAVIS statewide at one time instead of in stages since vehicles are transferable between counties and running two different systems at the same time could impact data integrity,” said KYTC Office of Information Technology Executive Director Heather Stout.
According to KYTC, the migration schedule is as follows:
• Online vehicle registration renewal: Unavailable starting December 28, 2023. Online renewal will be restored the week of January 8, 2024. Visit drive.ky.gov for updates.
• County Clerk Offices: Motor vehicle and vessel-related services will be unavailable as early as Friday, December 29, 2023. All offices will pause services starting January 1, 2024, and gradually resume services the week of January 8, 2024. Some offices will choose to close to the public during this time while others may be open to perform services not related to vehicles or boats. Check with your local County Clerk office to learn their plans.
Daviess County Clerk Leslie McCarty said, “We hope everything goes off smoothly, but with a project like this it wouldn’t surprise me if there are some bumps along the way and we have to remain fluid in this situation. We will keep the public informed as to any changes that happen with this transition.”
The project to migrate to KAVIS kicked off in 2015. Since then, 6 module releases have been implemented, including a standardized point-of-sale system, disabled placard improvements, print-on-demand decals, and new flat license plates. With KAVIS in place in early January, new special license plate designs will be available for request at County Clerk offices.
“The move to digital plates has resulted in more reflective and readable plates, reduced storage requirements, and increased on-demand printing capabilities,” Stout said. “Once in place, we’ll be able to continue a stream of new advancements like offering more than 20 new specialty license plates to choose from that promote nonprofit organizations in Kentucky.”
