News Release

ATTORNEY GENERAL MIKE MCGRATH
STATE OF MONTANA

FOR RELEASE: September 4, 2003

CONTACT: Judy Beck or Lynn Solomon, 444-0582;
Anita Drews-Oppedahl or Dean Roberts, 444-1772

Services Limited at Driver License Stations Sept. 15-19

HELENA -- From Sept. 15-19, driver-licensing stations throughout Montana will offer only license renewals and duplicates. Dean Roberts, administrator of the Motor Vehicle Division of the Department of Justice, said the staff members who give driving tests will be at mandatory training sessions.

According to Roberts, driver examiners and aides from around the state will be in Helena Sept. 15-19 for training in new state and federal legislation that goes into effect in October.

As a result, Roberts said that no satellite stations will be open that week. The state's 13 permanent stations — Billings, Bozeman, Butte, Glasgow, Glendive, Great Falls, Havre, Helena, Kalispell, Missoula, Polson, Sidney and Stevensville — will be open their normal hours, but the limited staff will only be available to assist people needing to renew or get a duplicate of their driver licenses.

"The training will focus on teaching our licensing staff to recognize fraudulent documents that could be presented to them when someone applies for a driver license or identification card," Roberts said.

The training also will cover new laws requiring notification of driver license expiration, additional information needed for commercial applications, new record keeping requirements, changes in DUI laws and other legislation passed by the 2003 Legislature.

Full services and the normal driver licensing station schedule, will resume on Monday Sept. 22.

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