Reminder to update BMV records

The deadline for those Ohioans, who received an urgent notice from the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV) to update their vehicle registration information, is three weeks away.

Effective Dec. 8, 2009, any vehicle registration that does not have an Ohio Driver License (DL), Ohio Identification Card (ID), or a Social Security Number (SSN) on the record will be canceled. The BMV sent letters to 47,457 registrants on Oct. 8, 2009 instructing these customers visit a deputy registrar by Dec. 8, 2009 to update their record with one of the three identifiers.

This notice applies to all registrants on the vehicle title, so both individuals named on a joint registration must provide an Ohio DL, Ohio ID or proof of SSN. The update is required by BMV policy, under the authority of Ohio law (Ohio Revised Code Chapter 4503.10). 

As of Nov. 17, 2009, the BMV updated 2,245 records and received 16,000 letters returned as undeliverable. Customers are required to notify the BMV of an address change within 10 days of that change.

After Dec. 8, 2009, the registrant may visit a deputy registrar any time up until their registration would have expired and present an Ohio DL, Ohio ID or proof of SSN, to have their registration reinstated, but customers are advised that if they wait until after the Dec. 8 deadline, they will not be able to legally operate the vehicle until the time that the registration is updated.

Upon receiving the necessary information, the record will update in the vehicle registration database within 24-48 hrs and the registration will be valid. A confirmation letter will be mailed to the registrant.

Customers whose registrations are canceled may request an administrative hearing in writing per Ohio law (Ohio Revised Code Chapter 119) any time up until their registration would have expired. The hearing is strictly limited to establishing documentation of Ohio DL, Ohio ID or proof of SSN.

The hearing does not delay the cancellation of the vehicle registration. Requests for an administrative hearing can be made in writing and sent to the Ohio BMV, P.O. Box 16521, Columbus, OH 43216. A notice of hearing will be sent to the registrant two or three weeks prior to the scheduled hearing. This notice will include the hearing examiner’s contact information, location of hearing and time.

For more information regarding the notices or with questions about the verification, customers should call 1-800-589-8247, Monday – Friday 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. For a list of deputy registrar locations where customers can update their records go to: http://bmv.ohio.gov/county/cnty_lst.htm.