August 16, 2010
10-230

Customers advised to avoid long lines before and after closures

The Oregon DMV headquarters and local offices will be closed Friday, August 20, 2010. The closure is the sixth of 10 statewide mandatory unpaid "furlough" days for employees scheduled through June 2011.

Like a holiday, waiting times tend to be longer on the days before and after a closure. The agency urges customers do their DMV business by mail or online, if possible, or schedule their visits before Thursday or after Monday.

"With the first statewide Friday closures, DMV had long lines the day before the furlough and the following business day, either Monday or Saturday depending upon the office," said DMV Field Services Manager Stephanie Miles. "So we recommend that customers check to see if they can do their DMV business online or by mail, or to plan their visit toward the middle of the week before or after a closure."

Online services include most passenger vehicle registration renewals, changes of address, and notice of vehicle sale. To access DMV's online services go to: www.OregonDMV.com/online.

DMV offices will reopen on their regularly scheduled days and times after the furlough day. For a complete list of DMV offices and their business hours, go to http://www.oregondmv.com/.

Under Oregon's cost-saving furlough plan, state employees must take 10 to 14 unpaid days off – depending on their salary level – during the 2009-11 state budgetary period. Ten of those days are mandatory statewide closures for offices that do not provide emergency services or require round-the-clock staffing. State employees who are required to take additional unpaid furlough days are scheduling them in much the same way they schedule vacation days.

DMV is one of the state agencies required to observe the mandatory closures, which are all scheduled for Fridays. Here are the upcoming statewide closure dates:

• August 20, 2010
• September 17, 2010
• November 26, 2010 (day after Thanksgiving)
• March 18, 2011
• May 20, 2011