NC lawmakers propose doubling the renewal period for most driver’s licenses

North Carolina residents would have to deal with the Division of Motor Vehicles less often under a provision in the House version of the state budget released this week.

Instead of requiring drivers to renew their licenses every eight years, the House is proposing that licenses granted to drivers age 18 to 65 not expire for 16 years. Starting at age 66, drivers would still need to renew their licenses every five years, as they do now. The renewal period for commercial drivers licenses would remain at five years, or three years for school bus drivers.

The budget also proposes that drivers be able to renew their licenses online every time, rather than being required to visit to a DMV office every other renewal as they do now.

The changes are meant to benefit both drivers and the DMV, says Rep. Frank Iler, a Republican from Brunswick County who chairs the House Appropriations Committee for transportation. Drivers won’t need to worry about renewing their licenses as often and would be less likely to need to visit a DMV office when they do.

Lengthening the renewal period would also mean less work for DMV, Iler said. In particular, reducing the number of times people are required to visit a DMV office would help the agency make the most of its limited supply of license examiners, he said.

About a third of driver’s license examiner jobs at DMV are vacant, as the agency struggles to hire and keep them.

It’s not clear how much money the DMV would save under the changes. The DMV wasn’t aware of the House’s budget bill proposal until it was announced late Wednesday, said spokesman Marty Homan.

“DMV is currently reviewing the bill, analyzing potential impacts to customers, and clarifying the bill’s intent,” Homan wrote in an email.

If the proposal passes and is signed into law, North Carolina would have the longest renewal cycle for driver’s licenses in the country, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, a research and education organization supported by the insurance industry. In only two states are driver’s licenses good for more than eight years, according to the institute. Arizona and Montana have 12-year-renewal periods; licenses in 22 states are good for six years or less.

North Carolina has increased the time between license renewals before. In 1993, as a cost-saving measure, lawmakers gave drivers an extra year, making renewals due every five years. They later increased the number to eight years for drivers age 18 to 53, then included drivers age 54 to 66 in 2010.

Iler said the idea of extending the renewal period originated with leaders in the House and Senate appropriations committees. They decided to keep the five-year renewal period for drivers age 66 and older because of “eyesight and other infirmities,” he said, but don’t see any reason not to let younger drivers go 16 years before renewing.

“There’s not a safety issue that we’re aware of or that’s been mentioned by DMV or DOT,” Iler said. “But I know that the next legislature can make a change if something doesn’t seem right or if it’s not working.”