DMV offers online license renewals

Drivers can use the service only if they have no restrictions on their license other than needing glasses or contacts – drivers also must attest that they have no vision problems that would hinder their driving skills. Commercial licenses cannot be renewed online, and people with expired, suspended or revoked licenses must go to a DMV for a new one.

The new license will be mailed in seven to 14 business days and will be valid for five or eight years, depending on the driver’s age.

“This new service is a major milestone in our continued efforts to improve customer service online and in our DMV offices throughout the state, making it faster, easier and more convenient for people to complete their business and get back to their busy lives,” Gov. Pat McCrory said in a statement.

In its first three days of operation, more than 7,000 people statewide renewed or requested a replacement for a lost license online, and DMV officials estimated the online option will save North Carolina residents 125,000 hours this year and an estimated 188,000 hours in 2016.

Mike Charbonneau, a spokesman for the state Department of Transportation, said other states with similar programs have not had widespread security problems issuing licenses online.

"There are a number of security checks there. You are having to put in your current driver's license, the last four digits of your Social Security number, your date of birth, and it has to find you in the system as a valid driver with no restrictions and an active license to be able to renew it through the system," Charbonneau said.

The DMV also will start issuing this summer a more secure and durable type of license through online renewal. The new design features high-resolution graphics and laser-etched verbiage, as well as overlapping “ghost images” in various colors, to help prevent counterfeiting, reduce the risk of identity theft and decrease the potential for fraud.

Online renewals will be available every other time a driver's license is set to expire, meaning people can't escape getting a new license photo forever.