DOL renewal notices can be sent by e-mail

If customers who regularly use the Internet to renew tabs sign up for e-mail renewal, DOL could avoid printing a million notices over the next year. This would save 2,000 reams of paper and $500,000 in printing and mailing. The Department of Licensing (DOL) redesigned the agency’s Web site to make it easier for customers to find and use online service options, including an easy new way for drivers to buy a copy of their driving record, and even to renew their auto and driving licenses

DOL is offering vehicle owners the opportunity to help save money and the environment by signing up for e-mail renewal notices.

E-mail renewal notices provide all of the information on a traditional paper renewal notice plus a direct link to DOL’s online vehicle tab renewal system — a real time saver, said DOL director Liz Luce.

Using the link to the online renewal system, vehicle owners can have new tabs ordered and on their way within minutes of receiving the notice.

“We hope people embrace e-mail renewal notices and sign up quickly because they really are a win for everybody,” Luce said.

“They streamline the tab renewals, save trees and save the state money at a time we need to find ways to cut back.”

Vehicle owners can sign up for e-mail renewal notices at www.dol.wa.gov, when renewing tabs online, or at their neighborhood vehicle licensing office.

If customers who regularly use the Internet to renew tabs sign up for e-mail renewal, DOL could avoid printing a million notices over the next year. This would save 2,000 reams of paper and two million envelopes — approximately 150 trees and approximately $500,000 in printing and mailing.

“More and more people are embracing the Internet as a way to receive and pay their household bills,” Luce said. “Because we have almost seven million vehicles in our state, the environmental benefits and cost savings could potentially be much larger.”

Licenses purchased online can be printed immediately on a home computer. They also can be purchased and printed at the many self-service stations located within driver licensing offices around the state.