The Bureau of Motor Vehicles mobile unit, called BMV4ME, offers monthly services in rural Maine towns. (Photo courtesy of the Maine Department of the Secretary of State)
Maine’s Bureau of Motor Vehicles launched a mobile branch on Thursday that aims to expand access to rural parts of the state that lack services.
The portable unit, branded BMV4ME, offers the BMV’s most common services, such as issuing driver’s licenses and learner’s permits, as well as handling name and address changes.
“This modernization improves our customer service,” Secretary of State Shenna Bellows said in a statement, “We can’t wait to take it on the road to service not only Maine’s most rural communities but also senior living facilities, veterans’ homes and other sites where Mainers would most benefit from the convenience of in-person BMV service.”
Unveiled in Augusta, the unit hit the road Thursday for a ribbon cutting in Belfast, one of four towns where mobile services will initially rotate and accept walk-ins.
In Belfast, the mobile unit will be at the United Methodist Church on the second Thursday of each month. In Dover-Foxcroft, the unit will be at the Piscataquis Community Center on the first and last Wednesday of each month. The unit will also stop at the Houlton Plaza Shopping Center on the fourth Thursday of the month and at the Machias Telecommunications Center on the first Tuesday of the month.
The unit won’t provide all of the services a traditional branch does.
However, Mainers can use the unit for license services such as REAL IDs and out-of-state non-commercial driver’s license transfers. It will also offer limited learner’s permit services, including issuance with a driver education completion certificate or processing applications for a knowledge exam appointment. New applications and renewals for disability placards can also be handled through the mobile service.
Courtesy of Maine Morning Star
