MVD delays leave some Arizonans waiting and fearful of repercussions with law enforcement
PHOENIX - Those who have had to do business with Arizona's Motor Vehicle Department (MVD) lately, then they know the MVD is struggling under a crush of requests from drivers, leaving drivers waiting for their driver's license, registration tags or other services provided by the government agency.
"Still haven't received the tags, still haven't received the registration so I'm hoping I don't get pulled over, but I've never had to wait this long to get this stuff," said Shae Freeman Caimitte.
Officials with the MVD acknowledge the system is overwhelmed during the pandemic.
"In the past, if we had people who had errors with getting something in the mail, we’d say come by one of our offices, we'd take care of problems immediately," said Doug Nick with the MVD.
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced the closure of many MVD offices, except for special appointments. Thousands are turning to the MVD website or phones.
Nick says they were able to increase calls answered from 5,000 to 13,000 a day.
"That's great improvement," said Nick. "It's still a source of frustration for people calling who can't get through."
Nick says as long as a drive has paid the registration, they are in the system, and the physical tab on the license plate isn’t needed.
"If you're good to go and up to date in our computer, then law enforcement will see that and law enforcement is aware that this is an issue right now," said Nick.
Caimitte, meanwhile, is still worried about getting pulled over for expired tags. She kept her receipt, just in case.
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