Upgrades Means Changes In DL Testing Sites

The Mississippi Department of Public Safety has launched a three-year modernization of the driver’s license system.

“The current system we are using is more than 20 years old and a significant operational risk,” Driver Services Director Major Chris Gillard said. “It is important to replace and update the antiquated system to better serve the citizens.”

It is important to upgrade the system; failing to complete this process would subject the system to potential failures. If a complete system failure were to occur the costs would increase dramatically and the citizens would be seriously affected.

As a result of the overhaul, knowledge testing by travel teams has been temporarily suspended, until further notice, as of the close of business Friday, August 23rd. Testing will continue at permanent driver’s license stations.

“This is a necessary but temporary situation,” Public Safety Commissioner Albert Santa Cruz said. “Once the upgrades are completed, there will be immediate improvements with enhanced system capabilities. The result will be shorter wait times, more efficient transactions and better availability of services.”

Cities where testing has been temporarily halted: Belzoni, Indianola, Kosciusko, Lexington, Winona, Booneville, Burnsville, Pontotoc, Amory, Louisville, West Point, Collins, Columbia, Prentiss, Purvis, Waynesboro, Lucedale, Tylertown and Woodville.

Cities with permanent driver’s license stations that will offer testing: Jackson (two locations), Pearl, Vicksburg, Cleveland, Greenville, Batesville, Clarksdale, Nesbit, Olive Branch, Oxford, Corinth, New Albany, Tupelo, Columbus, Starkville, Meridian, Newton, Philadelphia, Walnut Grove, Hattiesburg, Laurel, Bay Saint Louis, D’Iberville, Biloxi, Pascagoula, Picayune, Brookhaven, Natchez and Summit.

Visit the Department of Public Safety’s website for the addresses of the stations offering testing at www.dps.state.ms.us.

Testing by travel teams will resume as soon as possible. The complete system upgrade will be completed by fall of 2015.