COVID-19 Updates: RMV

Registry of Motor Vehicles

UPDATE (1/22/21)

The Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV) is announcing that it is extending designated Wednesday appointment hours for customers 75 years of age or older through March 2021. This new customer service option began successfully in early September at select RMV Service Centers, and is now offered at the following seventeen (17) locations: Brockton, Danvers, Fall River, Greenfield, Lawrence, Leominster, Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket, New Bedford, North Adams, Pittsfield, Plymouth, Revere, South Yarmouth, Springfield, Watertown and Worcester.

The senior hours are held on Wednesdays (hours vary by location) for customers 75 years of age or older whose driver’s license or ID card expired earlier this year, This new service option is being offered to provide customers with some flexibility while conducting transactions and to facilitate proper “social-distancing” protocols and procedures to keep customers and staff safe and healthy. Information regarding the new
service hours and additional resources for seniors can be found at
https://www.mass.gov/info-details/older-drivers.

(6/19/2020) – MASSDOT/RMV announcement of new initiatives to provide additional flexibility to RMV customers:

• Supervised Driving Privileges Prior to Learner’s Permit: Eligible teenagers will be required to have parental / guardian consent to apply and take their learner’s permit test online. Printed at home following successfully passing the learner’s permit test. Learner’s Permit applications will continue to be processed by appointment only at a Service Center when identity, lawful presence, residency and vision have been verified.
• $25 REAL ID Upgrade Fee Waiver: Customers who renew for a ‘standard’ Massachusetts driver’s license or ID card online between today and August 12, 2020, will be able to upgrade to a REAL ID if they need it in 2021 at no additional charge. The cost of a license or ID renewal is $50 for a ‘standard’ or REAL ID, while the amendment or upgrade fee waived by this Executive Order is $25.

• In-Car Observation Hours for Junior Operators extended to allow for 46 hours of supervised driving hours to be completed with a parent, guardian or other adult over 21 with a valid license for over a year.

• Grace Period for Registration Transfers after Vehicle Purchase: statute currently requires individuals to transfer a registration within 7 days of vehicle purchase. The Executive Order temporary extends this grace period requirement to 21 days.

The Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV) is encouraging all eligible customers to renew their standard Massachusetts driver’s license or Massachusetts ID card online at Mass.Gov/RMV any time between now and August 12, 2020, in order to qualify for a free upgrade to a REAL ID credential in 2021. This one-time, time limited offer is available to most customers who have an expired or expiring license or ID card dated between March 2020 and August 2021, as renewals are allowed up to two years after expiration, or up to a year in advance of the expiration date printed on their license or ID.

The Massachusetts RMV has been ordered to extend the renewal timeline of certain credentials including Class D, Class DMs, ID Cards and Learner’s Permits. A 60-day extension will be granted to customers with credential expiration dates between March 1, 2020 and April 30, 2020. This extension, however, does not apply to vehicle registration.

Appointment reservation times will be available on a rolling basis up to two business days in advance on www.Mass.Gov/RMV in the myRMV Online Service Center under “Make or Cancel a Reservation.”  All passenger and motorcycle road tests have been canceled. CDL tests will still be conducted as scheduled.

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Phone: 617-722-2263
Email: dave.rogers@mahouse.gov
Mail: State House Room 473B, Boston, MA 02133