People waiting in lines to renew their Florida driver license or vehicle registrations had to wait for well over an hour all day long on Monday. The Florida DMV website, Go Renew, which allows for online renewal crashed due to the high traffic of people trying to beat the long lines at the DMV offices. The reason behind the rush for all of these renewals is that fees for tags, vehicle registrations and driver license all go up on Tuesday, September 1st.
The rush actually started last Friday. Florida DMV offices saw an increase in people renewing their driver license by 85% over a normal day. An increase of over 185% for those renewing their tags on Friday also occurred.
Starting on Tuesday it will cost a lot more to get your license or to renew them. New driver license will cost $48 starting on Tuesday. They were $27 on Monday. On Tuesday a six year renewal it will cost $48 compared to $20 on Monday.
Vehicle registration is based on the weight of the vehicle and if it has any special purpose that will tack on more fees. If the vehicle weighs 2,500 lbs then it will cost 66% more from around $28 to $47. A vehicle weighing 3,500 lbs there will be a 54% increase with an increase in fee to $72 from $47.
Those who went to wait in long lines to save money before the increase take effect on Monday will save money. Florida DMV offices have extended the normal office hours to stay open till 6:30 pm on Monday. Vouchers were also given out to some that showed up at DMV offices that were packed. The vouchers allow them to pay the old fees if they return to by September 11th.
Only vehicles with registrations that expire no later than November 30, 2009 are allowed to renew on Monday at the old rates. Most of the fees that are being increased have not been increased in 20 years. The general public still does not understand the timing of the increase.
Those in the government are blaming each other for the increases. The shortfall in the Florida state budget is the reason for the increases for DMV services. The fee increase on driver license, tag renewal and registration are expected to bring in more than $800 million in this current budget year and $1 billion next year. For Monday, the new Florida DMV increases are only creating long lines and frustrated people at the DMV offices.
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