Traditional driver licensing branches closing in some Kentucky counties

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Traditional driver's license branches are closing in several Kentucky counties later this month.

The Office of the Circuit Court Clerk in Caldwell, Casey, Green, Hardin, Menifee, Metcalfe, McCreary and Webster counties will stop almost all in-person driver licensing services on Monday, May 24. Instead, people in those counties will visit a Driver Licensing Regional Office.

Hardin County Circuit Clerk Loretta Crady told WDRB News it's the right move.

"With REAL ID coming along and just the way things are changing in the world, so to speak, with new technology, it just made sense to go to regional offices," Crady said.

She added that issuing drivers licenses has been an added responsibility for circuit clerk's offices for nearly 100 years.

"While I 've always loved doing it, it takes away from my court function staff in a time where you don't have enough staff anyway," Crady said.

There are currently 15 regional offices, including one in Elizabethtown, one off Hurstbourne Parkway in Louisville and one in Frankfort.

All counties are expected to transition driver licensing services to regional centers by June 2022.

"To make a better Kentucky, we have to strive for constant improvement in our public services and the manner in which they're delivered," Gov. Andy Beshear said in a statement. "The transition to licensing through a network of Driver Licensing Regional Offices, with modern services and more choices for cardholders, takes this essential service to the next level."

"Licensing is our only business at the regional offices so we can focus on providing a consistent and positive experience across our network of application sites," KYTC Secretary Jim Gray said in a statement. "Our offices also offer a more secure issuance process and upgraded card security features to curb fraud."

Residents of counties making the transition may renew or apply for a REAL ID or new standard card version of driver licenses, permits, commercial driver licenses (CDLs) and ID cards at any KYTC Driver Licensing Regional Office.

"We understand that there can be a little concern when there's not one directly in my county, but there's going to be one a county over, there's going to be new technology, we're going to eventually add an online renewal program," said Matt Cole, KYTC's Director of Driver Licensing.

Regional offices are the only places to get a REAL ID.