Just over a year ago, the Mississippi Department of Public Safety launched its ‘Skip the Line’ program at driver’s license bureaus across the state.
The program, which allows Mississippians to schedule appointments at bureaus and renew licenses online, was aimed at improving wait times across the state. During a press conference this afternoon, Governor Tate Reeves and DPS Commissioner Sean Tindell touted the success of the program while also offering a look at further improvements.
The governor shared that the program has played a key role in reducing wait times at driver’s license bureaus from an average of two hours down to 18 minutes—an 85% decrease.
As far as usage, Governor Reeves explained that the program’s online appointment scheduling tool has been used over 330,000 times across 35 locations.
Additionally, 94,000 Mississippians have taken advantage of the ability to renew their license online.
A centralized call center for driver services will also open in Canton.
Commissioner Tindell shared that DPS is anticipating the launch of a mobile ID system that can be downloaded onto a smartphone in November. Officials are also working to ensure that you can digitize your vaccination card. In the spring, Tindell said that a full mobile wallet is also in the works which would organize your driver’s license, vaccination card, and hunting & fishing licenses in one place. Physical IDs will still be available, but mobile IDs could be used as an alternative form.
Watch the press briefing below:
