EATON — The Ohio Department of Public Safety announced last week driver examination station skills testing would resume last Friday, June 12. Preble Countians needing a driver’s test, including driver permit examinations, will no longer be able to do so in Eaton, however. The office formerly located in Junction Village Mall, has been closed.
“In an effort to better deploy limited staffing resources the BMV has made a difficult operational decisions within its Driver Examination section of closing the Eaton DX location,” Lindsey Bohrer, Assistant Director of Communications for the Ohio Department of Public Safety said via email last week.
“The BMV shifted resources and expanded services by offering six-day-a-week knowledge testing at nearby Deputy Registrar agencies, as well as expanding the knowledge testing available at larger existing DX stations,” Bohrer continued.
“For the knowledge testing to get a learner’s permit, Preble County residents can continue to go to the BMV deputy registrar office in 8389 N. Main St. Dayton, OH 45415. For the actual driving test, individuals will be redirected to a DX station nearby. In the case of Eaton, the nearest DX station is in Huber Heights, DX 6134, Chambersburg Road, Huber Heights.”
The Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV) announced earlier in the week driver examination station skills testing would resume last Friday by appointment only in Findlay (Hancock County,) Bedford (Cuyahoga County,) Columbus (Franklin County,) Newark (Licking County,) Jackson (Jackson County) and Cincinnati (Hamilton County.)
Additional driver examination stations were to resume skills testing starting on Tuesday, June 16 by appointment.
”The BMV is making efforts to contact those individuals who may have had their test canceled during COVID19 to reschedule on a priority basis. Once those tests are rescheduled, then appointments will be available for all other customers. Customers should call to ensure their location is open. Appointments will be able to be made online,” Bohrer said in the earlier press release.
Class D skills testing will use a modified process that allows the driver examiner to score the prospective licensee from outside the car in accordance with the Ohio Department of Health and Center for Disease Control recommended health and safety guidelines.
The BMV will reach out to individuals who had a test cancelled due to COVID-19 to provide an opportunity for priority-based scheduling.
As a reminder, if a customer’s license, identification card, vehicle registration, or temporary permit expired on or after the state of emergency’s effective date of March 9, 2020, its expiration date has been automatically extended and will remain valid until 90 days after the state of emergency ends, or Dec. 1, 2020, whichever date comes first.
The release stressed, many of the services Ohioans rely on at the BMV can be accomplished online at www.OPlates.com. If customers need to purchase a temporary tag for their car, renew their vehicle registration, order new license plates, check their driving record, and many other services, they can complete the transaction online.
“Since reopening on May 26, BMV transactions are up approximately 8 percent from 2019 during that same time frame,” Bohrer said in the release. “The BMV encourages customers who absolutely must visit a deputy registrar to take advantage of ‘Get In Line, Online,’ which allows customers to virtually get in line before arriving.”
