The Butts County Tax Commissioner’s Office will be closed on Wednesday, May 8th for mandatory training of personnel on new state equipment that will be installed later this month. Additional closings for equipment installation will occur beginning on May 23rd at noon and continuing all day on May 24th. The office will reopen on Tuesday, May 28th following the Memorial Day holiday.

The Georgia Department of Revenue (DOR) is installing a new state-of-the-art system, Georgia Driver Record and Integrated Vehicle Enterprise System (DRIVES), to upgrade and modernize the vehicle registration and titling system. The new Georgia DRIVES system will enable more self-service options, improve customer service, and enhance data integrity.

Beginning Tuesday, May 21, some online vehicle services and location hours may be reduced in preparation for the system upgrade. Implementation of the new system will require the vehicle registrations and titling services to be unavailable statewide on Friday, May 24. During June, customers may experience longer than normal wait times when visiting the tag office. Vehicle owners with renewal dates in May and June who normally renew in person are encouraged to do so prior to May 20 to avoid delays. Individuals who ordinarily renew online will not experience delays.

“The Department of Revenue is excited for the upcoming Memorial Day launch of the DRIVES Project which will improve efficiencies and reduce costs for handling the annual registration of over 10 million vehicles. As we transition from the old system to the new Georgia DRIVES, it is important for vehicle owners to be aware of planned service outages leading up to the Memorial Day launch and to plan accordingly,” states Department of Revenue Commissioner, Lynne Riley.

In the first month of the DRIVES system, walk-in customers may experience delays and longer than normal wait times. To avoid such delays, Georgia residents with May and June renewal dates are encouraged to renew prior to Monday, May 20. Some other things to keep in mind:

• Customers and dealers seeking to conduct any title transactions should complete their business at a county tag office prior to Thursday, May 23rd.
• Dealers will be able to initiate electronic title and registration (ETR) transactions and issue temporary operating permits (TOPs) over Memorial Day weekend.
• Law enforcement will still have access to motor vehicle records through a statewide backup file.
• The Department of Driver Services will not be affected.