KENTUCKY — After seven Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) driver license offices closed last week due to COVID-19 cases, three will take longer than originally expected to reopen.
What You Need To Know
- Three KYTC driver license offices take longer than expected to reopen
- Seven KYTC offices closed last week following COVID-19 cases
- Four reopened Tuesday
- Lexington office to reopen Nov. 18, Florence and Columbia offices to reopen as early as Nov. 24
The KYTC Regional Driver Licensing offices in Lexington and Columbia, in addition to a smaller, temporary field office in Florence, will remain closed. The other four offices in Jackson, Catlettsburg, Bowling Green, and Owensboro, reopened today following sanitization.
“We initially thought, due to minimum exposure, all seven offices would be deep-cleaned and reopened after 72 hours,” said Matt Cole, commissioner of the KYTC Department of Vehicle Regulation. “But we since have been advised of new standards by local health departments for contact, exposure and length of exposure that precludes reopening all the offices at once.”
The Lexington office is scheduled to reopen Wednesday, Nov. 18, but Columbia and Florence residents may have a longer wait as those offices could reopen as early as Nov. 24.
“We will make certain the offices are safe for employees and guests,” Cole said.
Cole said anyone whose appointments were disrupted by the closures will be rescheduled or taken care of at a different KYTC driver licensing facility.
No matter where they live, Kentucky residents can visit any regional or field office to apply for a REAL ID or standard driver's license or identification card if they don't require driver testing by the Kentucky State Police.
A number of regional offices are still operating, including those in Frankfort, Somerset, Richmond, Prestonburg, Paducah, Morehead, Madisonville, and Elizabethtown. There's also a field office at Louisville's Bowman Field and a field office for non-U.S. residents in Buechel, Jefferson County.
To skip the office visit altogether, Kentuckians can also apply for renewal or replacement of a standard license or ID card by mail, also given that no testing is required and no information on the credential needs changing.
Haeli Spears is a digital producer with Spectrum News 1 KY. She is a recent graduate of the University of Louisville and joined the staff in May, 2020.