A year ago, the Michigan Secretary of State's office was telling us how many more self service options they were going to make available to us in 2020, maybe not realizing just how important that would turn out to be, with the then looming pandemic.

The basic services that don't really require going into the Secretary of State's offices and waiting in line, are now pretty much all available either online or at kiosks located across the state, but all that is being expanded even further.

“This spring, customers will be able to do even more of their business with us at our self-service stations and from their homes,” says Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson.

What's made this expansion possible this coming March is a long-needed technology overhaul of the driver-record database. "That new system will be securely merged with the upgraded vehicle record database that (was) implemented...in 2019. Work to rehaul the driver database has been in process since then," according to a Secretary of State's new release.

Secretary of State kiosk are now at over 130 stores like Meijer and others across Michigan.

Two of the new services offered might not be something the average Michigander is aware of or needs, but can be helpful to others. The first of those is an electronic lien and title program that will put lien and title information online for lienholders in lieu of a paper certificate of title.

In addition to that, the graduated driver licensing process will be streamlined to reduce your need to visit a branch. And finally, this is big for mechanics. Mechanic testing registration is going to be available online only to mechanics with a Michigan driver’s license or state ID. What this means is, while the new system is installed, from January 15 to March 15, online registration for mechanic tests will not be available at all, and mechanics will need to make appointments at their branch offices to register for a test.

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