Kentucky county clerks continue to be frustrated with the implementation of the state’s new vehicle registration system, known as KAVIS, according to a release from the Kentucky County Clerk’s Association.
Locally, Henderson County Clerk Renesa Abner echoed some of the KCCA’s frustration, saying she and staff thought that the implementation would go much more smoothly. When it hasn’t, it has caused a bit of anxiety, she said.
“It’s just not what we were expecting,” Abner said. “We’re trying to stay positive.”
Abner said the lines have been longer than normal since the start of KAVIS implementation at the beginning of the year, and she warned customers who may need to come in to be prepared for a longer wait.
“We’re still not up to speed,” she said. “Be prepared and know what to bring.”
The biggest delay has been caused by people who own vehicles under different names, Abner said. For example, one entry might be under the first name “Bob” but with another vehicle the name is listed as “Robert.”
Abner said county clerk’s office staff is having to identify and then merge these two different (sometimes more) accounts into one, and these merges take more time. Additionally, information for people may have in the past been keyed in incorrectly, and that, too, has caused delays, Abner said.
Once all those records are consolidated, Abner said “it should be much easier.”
The KCCA made a list of items people should bring so that their visit will go more smoothly. These include:
- A driver’s license or state-issued identification card
- A renewal notice and previous year’s registration
- A printed copy of Kentucky proof of insurance or insurance email or fax number
- For online, mail or drop-off transactions, include a contact phone number
Additionally, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet’s web portal, drive.ky.gov, is available for renewals with verified proof of insurance and if the customer is current on all taxes owed, said the KCCA release.
The release also said that customers should be warned that March is the busiest month in county clerk’s offices statewide.
The implementation began locally when the vehicle services section of the county clerk’s office was closed from Dec. 30-Jan. 8. At that time, 350 million records statewide were transferred to the new KAVIS system.
The local vehicle services section opened on Jan. 9. The local office experienced glitches and bugs then, which county clerk’s offices statewide had also reported, the Hendersonian reported later in the month.
The KCCA called on the state transportation cabinet to resolve the issues in the most recent news release.
