Customers at Ritzville, Colfax to be served by larger DOL

Driver Licensing Offices by mid-June

OLYMPIA - Effective mid-June, the Driver Licensing Offices in Ritzville and Colfax will be closed due to declining customer use and a need to better utilize licensing staff at larger area offices.

The last day for service at the Ritzville office is June 14. The office is open on Mondays and averages only 17 transactions per day. That means there are fewer than 17 customers because some clients have more than one transaction such as applying for a first-time license and taking a test.

Transactions are down 33 percent from a peak in 1999. The nearest Driver Licensing Office is in Moses Lake. It is open five days a week, Tuesday through Saturday and can absorb new customers.

The last day of driver licensing service at the Colfax office is June 16. It is open on Wednesdays and has averaged 15 customer transactions per day.

There has been a 26 percent decline in transactions in the past five years, with 52 percent of transactions involving driver license renewals. Colfax area residents will most likely use the Driver Licensing Office in Pullman. It is open five days a week, Tuesday through Saturday and can take on additional customers.

"We regret any inconvenience to the Ritzville and Colfax customers," said Denise Movius, Assistant Director for Driver Services at the Department of Licensing. "We regularly review our service levels and with the decreasing customer volume at these two locations, we find it prudent to continue service to these customers through other nearby offices."

Reasons for declining office visits may include the fact that drivers now renew licenses every five years compared to four years in the past, necessitating less office visits. Technology advances within the Department of Licensing also allow drivers who need to obtain a duplicate license do make their transaction online. By late fall, a substantial portion of the licensed public will be able to renew their driver licenses online. In 2006, drivers will have another alternative to making an office visit when they can renew their license by mail.

A map showing Driver Licensing Offices statewide and the associated office hours is available on the Internet at https://fortress.wa.gov/dol/ddl/lobbywaittime/.