State Computer Upgrade Means Inconvenience for Some

Allen County Treasurer Sharon Utley has a heads-up form anyone who renews license tags in April or May: the lines may be longer the end of April than usual, and those renewing in May will have less time than normal. It's all due to an upgrade of the state's auto registration computer system, which will take place at the end of the business day April 30th. Staff in the treasurer's office will be training and testing on the new system during April, which will mean the office is open shorter hours on the 3rd through the 5th and on the 10th through the 12th. During both those three-day spans, tag and title work will only be available after 9:30am.

After the office closes April 30th, the computer system will be converted, and state officials will begin a week-long audit to ensure information transferred from the old system shows up correctly in the new system. So the Motor Vehicle Department will be closed the entire first week of May. The closure affects all counties in the state.

Those with C and D last names have a harder-than-usual deadline to get tag work done in April, since missing the April 30th deadline means you won't be able to get the tag work done until May 9th. The same is true for those buying a car -- no title work can be done the first week of May, so if your 30-day tag expires in that time frame you have until April 30th to get it taken care of.