AUSTIN – The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) today announced that a temporary initiative to address summer-related safety concerns at select driver license (DL) offices has been expanded to include the Grand Prairie DL Office. Beginning Monday, Aug. 6, only mandatory in-office transactions will be provided at the Grand Prairie DL Office. Summer is one of the busiest times at Texas DL offices, and this increased demand combined with summer heat and limited waiting areas is creating life-safety concerns for customers who have to wait outside. The summer-related safety initiative continues until Aug. 31, 2018, at seven offices, including the original six DL offices announced last month (Denton, Plano, Rockwall, Conroe, Houston-Dacoma, and Temple).
Statewide, the majority of Texans who are eligible to conduct their transaction online, by phone or by mail, which would allow them to skip the trip to a DL office altogether, currently are not taking advantage of these convenient options. This results in more customers inside DL offices and longer wait times, including for those who are required to come into an office. For example, in fiscal year 2017, approximately 52 percent of all customers (more than 3.6 million people) who came into DL offices didn’t need to do so.
Additionally, in certain offices where there is limited physical space in the waiting areas — like the Grand Prairie, Denton, Plano, Rockwall, Conroe, Houston-Dacoma, and Temple — customers are regularly subject to waiting outside the buildings as DPS works to accommodate customer demand while also complying with fire code laws. With the extreme summer heat, this creates a serious life-safety concern for our customers.
As part of this initiative, customers who visit any of these seven locations and are eligible to conduct their transactions online, by mail or by phone, will be directed to an alternate full-service DL location nearby, should they still prefer an in-office visit. The affected offices and their full-service alternative locations are as follows:
- For the Grand Prairie office: Customers will be referred to the Fort Worth Mega Center (8301 Brentwood Stair Rd., Fort Worth, TX 76120) or the Dallas South Mega Center (39025 LBJ Service Rd., Dallas, TX 75232);
- For the Denton office: Customers will be referred to the Carrollton Mega Center (4600 State Hwy 121, Carrollton, TX 75010);
- For the Plano office: Customers will be referred to the Garland Mega Center (4445 Saturn Rd., Ste. A, Garland, TX 75041) or Carrollton Mega Center (4600 State Hwy 121, Carrollton, TX 75010);
- For the Rockwall office: Customers will be referred to the Garland Mega Center (4445 Saturn Rd., Ste. A, Garland, TX 75041) or Garland Driver License Office (350 W. IH-30, Garland, TX 75043).
- For the Conroe office: Customers will be referred to the Spring Mega Center (4740 Spring Cypress Rd., Ste. 100, Spring, TX 77379);
- For the Houston-Dacoma office: Customers will be referred to the Houston North Mega Center (8418 Veterans Memorial Dr., Houston, TX 77088) or Houston Southeast Mega Center (10810 Galveston Rd., Houston, TX 77034);
- For the Temple office: Customers will be referred to the Killeen Driver License Office (5100 West Elms Rd., Killeen, TX 76549) or Georgetown Driver License Office (1070 Westinghouse Rd., Georgetown, TX 78626).
DPS offers the following tips to increase convenience for all customers across the state:
- Prior to coming to the office, call 1-866-DL-RENEW (1-866-357-3639) or check online to determine if your transaction — whether the renewal of a Texas DL or identification (ID) card or an address change — can actually be handled online, by phone or by mail. By doing so, eligible customers can skip the trip to a DL office and, in turn, decrease transaction times for customers required to go into an office.
- High-capacity DL Mega Centers are available in major metropolitan areas to better serve customers.
- Many DL offices utilize a queuing system to provide customers with the convenient option of reserving a spot in line through the DPS website before going to the office. For a list of the high-capacity Mega Centers, as well as the specific DL offices that offer the “Get in Line, Online” feature, visit the DPS website.
- In many offices, you can schedule a drive test online three months in advance. Customers are urged to plan ahead and not delay scheduling a drive appointment.
- Another underutilized option available to customers is to renew their DL or ID card early. You can renew up to two years in advance, and renewing early does not impact the expiration date. If an office visit is required, renewing early allows customers to choose a convenient time that best fits their schedule and avoids the busiest times at the DL office.
- Mondays and Fridays tend to be the busiest days, as well as after holidays. Overall, summer is the busiest time of the year. Try to plan your visit around these high-volume times, if possible.
- Before you go to the office, make sure you have all the proper documentation, including documents needed for residency requirements.
Visit DPS’ online services for more information.
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