MOULTRIE, Ga. — Less than two years after a new computer system was installed at the Colquitt County Tax Commissioner’s Office, the state plans a technology upgrade that will limit the office’s services for almost a week, starting Wednesday.

The upgrade will allow the office, which issues tags for vehicles, to work more closely with the Georgia Department of Driver Services, which issues driver’s licenses. The upgrade will also cause the driver’s license offices to be closed starting Thursday.

The Colquitt County Tax Commissioner’s Office will remain open to deal with property tax and mobile home matters but it will be unable to process vehicle information, Tax Commissioner Cindy Harvin said on Friday. The closure will begin Wednesday, Jan. 13, and last through Monday, Jan. 18. 

Offices of the Georgia DDS will close Thursday, Jan. 14, through Monday, Jan. 18, according to a state press release. During the closing, customers will not be able to visit in person or to use DDS online services or the DDS 2 Go mobile app.

Normal hours will resume Jan. 19, but all agencies involved ask for the community’s patience during the transition.

The technology is called DRIVES for Driver Record and Integrated Vehicle Enterprise System. It’s a multi-year upgrade that modernizes the state’s driver’s license and tag-and-title systems, according to the press release from the Georgia Department of Revenue, the state agency that coordinates vehicle registration with local tax commissioners.

“While DOR and county tax commissioners have been utilizing DRIVES since Spring 2019, this important upgrade done in tandem with the DDS system transition will ensure each agency will have access to the most recent enhancements and features of the software,” the press release said.

The system doesn’t change the agencies’ traditional roles: DDS will still handle the state’s driver’s license and ID card issuances, while each county tax commissioner will continue to be responsible for motor vehicle license plate and title administration.

Both agencies have encouraged those with January renewal dates for driver’s licenses, ID cards or car tags to plan ahead and renew early.