GREENFIELD — The Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles is overhauling its website. The change is meant to make vehicle inspections more convenient in the long run, but its hassling some for now.
From tonight at 7 to Monday at 8 a.m., the RMV website will be down as it switches over to its new ATLAS computer system.
No RMV services will be available — except for those relating to law enforcement — during that time.
For car dealers and customers across the state, that means no inspections will be conducted and no registrations processed while ATLAS is being installed. All RMV stations will be closed in that three-day window.
“We do a lot of state inspections and plate transfers,” said Jay Dillon, co-owner of Dillon Chevrolet at 54 Main St.
In his several decades at the dealership, Dillon has not encountered such a situation, he said.
While the state has been putting notifications up along the highways, not everyone knows about the temporary shutdown, Dillon said. Representatives from the RMV and Department of Motor Vehicles have also given fliers detailing the delay in service to dealerships.
Those customers who do know about the impending holdup are scrambling to come in early for inspections, Dillon said.
“So we’ve got state inspection customers coming in,” Dillon said. “I’m just hoping everything goes well. … It’ll just be a customer inconvenience.”
According to Dillon, the RMV shutdown is coming at a bad time.
“We’re getting toward the end of the month and that’s usually a busy time for both sales and services,” Dillon said.
Dealerships like Dillon Chevrolet and Orange Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram at 95 New Athol Road, Orange, are open for business on Saturdays when many people who work during regular business hours look to get their inspections done.
At Orange Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram, employees expressed annoyance about the coming shutdown, but were glad it would only last three days.
According to the dealership’s Finance Manager Drew Tomkinson, services that require insurance companies’ involvement — like vehicle registration — often can’t be done on the weekend because many insurance companies are closed anyway.
“It’s going to be frustrating, but it’s not going to shut down the business,” Tomkinson said.
Employees at Orange Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram dealership have been letting costumers know about the shutdown ahead of time, so they can plan to get inspections before 7 tonight or after Monday at 8 a.m.
At Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge dealership Brown Motors Inc. at 399 Federal St., business was steady Wednesday afternoon, even though Billing and Title Clerk Sue Newell said the dealership is relatively small.
“We’re not a high-traffic dealership,” Newell said.
According to Newell, the dealership has been making efforts to let their clients know about the shutdown.
“We’re just planning around it,” Newell said.
Newell said if the website has to be changed, it’s good that it is happening mostly over the weekend, rather than over three weekdays.
Still, she said, she cannot understand why a website change is entirely necessary, especially if it means inconveniencing drivers and businesses across the state.
In implementing ATLAS, the RMV is getting rid of its previous Automated License and Registration System.
The new ATLAS website and system will have a myRMV feature, allowing people to apply for and renew their vehicle inspector credentials online.
It will also be a “flexible system,” according to the RMV, that will be more user-friendly.
“ATLAS provides inspectors and customers with new, modern, faster and more convenient ways to access and share data and information with the RMV,” reads an RMV statement.
Vehicles that did not pass inspections between Jan. 22 and Jan. 31 and were given 60 days for reinspection are being given a 10-day extension, according to the RMV.
Also as part of the computer update, beginning Monday, customers will have the choice between a REAL ID driver’s license or identification card, or a standard state driver’s license or ID card.
A REAL ID card will be acceptable for federal purposes, and after October 2020 a REAL ID or a passport will be required to fly in the United States or enter certain federal buildings.
The REAL ID cards will feature a gold star imprinted on one corner, indicating the card is federally-compliant. Those IDs and drivers licenses that are standard state-issued cards will read “NOT FOR FEDERAL ID” in bold across the top.
Customers will have to provide proof of U.S. citizenship or their lawful presence in the U.S. before cards are issued.
Reach David McLellan at dmclellan@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 268.