The Registry of Motor Vehicles branch on Martha’s Vineyard is scheduled to reopen on Monday, June 29, following almost three months of closure due to the pandemic.
Currently, customers can go online to schedule an appointment for next week or after, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Department of Transportation told the Gazette in an email Tuesday. Certain restrictions still apply.
“The RMV at this time is giving appointments initially only to those customers with transactions that cannot be completed online, over the phone or by mail,” the spokesman said.
Customers can visit Mass.Gov/RMV to see if they are eligible for an appointment. All customers must wear a face covering if entering an RMV service center.
The RMV branch located in the airport business park has been closed through the pandemic. For the last three months, the nearest RMV service center open was located in Fall River. MassDOT granted extensions to certain licenses that expired during the pandemic and will expire this summer.
Due to the extensions, Island police chiefs said there was no increase in citations related to expired licenses or vehicle registrations during the pandemic.
“Really, there has been no marked increase other than what has normally been the case,” Tisbury police chief Mark Saloio said. “In large part that is because of all the extensions the RMV has been providing.”
Edgartown police chief Bruce McNamee said his department scaled back on traffic stops during the pandemic. With summer kicking into gear, he said the department is beginning to make stops at a more regular pace.
“We were only stopping vehicles for life safety reasons, as opposed to an expired sticker,” Chief McNamee said.
According to MassDOT, driver’s licenses and ID cards that expired in March, April and May will now expire in September of this year. Those that will expire in June have been extended until October and those that will expire in July have been extended to November.
“The RMV is encouraging all of our customers to stay safe, save time, and go online during the COVID-19 pandemic to renew their license or ID card,” said RMV registrar Jamey Tesler in a press release.
— Will Sennott
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