SPRING LAKE — The North Carolina license plate agency in Spring Lake is shutting down Thursday, leaving vehicle owners there in a lurch if they need to renew a license plate, get a vehicle title, or similar service.
The closing agency is in the Spring Lake Plaza shopping center at 316 N.C. 210 North — also called Lillington Highway.
There are other options for the license plate services, though less convenient for people in Spring Lake.
Read on for details.
Why is this office closing?
The individual who had the contract to run this office, Troy Townsend, is retiring, North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles spokesman John Brockwell said. Townsend has had the contract since 2017.
Wait … contract? The license plate office isn’t a government office?
The DMV does not staff or operate the state’s license plate offices.
Instead, it contracts out this job to private businesses and local governments. The state is in the process of reestablishing the Spring Lake license plate agency with a new contractor.
The new contractor is expected to open reopen the Spring Lake office in the same location in Feburary, Brockwell said.
Where should I go in the meantime for in-person service?
Here are the addresses of other license plate agency offices in the area:
This is the 21st century. Can’t I get DMV services online or on my smartphone?
Yes, some DMV services can be handled online or with a smartphone instead of in person.
These include license plate renewal (and payment of fees and property taxes), ordering a personalized license plate, and ordering a duplicate registration card.
The DMV also offers some driver’s license services online, such as renewing a driver’s license and ordering a replacement driver’s license if you lose yours.
Visit payments.ncdot.gov for DMV online services.
Didn’t I hear that the DMV was going to put kiosks in grocery stores?
The DMV plans to begin putting service kiosks in grocery stores. This had been previously scheduled for October in Cumberland County, but now is set to happen in 2024, DMV spokesman Marty Homan said.
Cumberland County is to get one of the first three kiosks. The other two are for Wake and Mecklenburg counties.
Senior reporter Paul Woolverton can be reached at 910-261-4710 and pwoolverton@cityviewnc.com.
