Self-Service Kiosks Renew Photo IDs

Officials hope adding kiosks will cut down wait times at traditional license renewal counters to no more than 20 minutes. Credit Jessica Goldenring WPLN

Driver’s license renewal lines may get a little shorter soon. The Tennessee Department of Safety has opened 30 self-service kiosks, with ten more set to be installed in the next month or so.

The machine takes credit or debit card payments for renewal fees and uses facial recognition technology to make sure the person in the booth matches the photo on record. Several are at existing license offices, but most are at locations intended to be more convenient, like local government offices or Triple-A branches.
John Doyle works for the company that made the machines. He says they’re a sign of the times.

“Today when we want to get cash, just as a matter of fact I just did it, where do we go? We went to the ATM. When we want to go to the grocery store and we only have a few items to check out, a very simple transaction, where do we go? Self-checkout. The kiosk is simply an extension of that.”

However, the kiosks will not pop out a brand new, laminated ID. Those now come in the mail after the state runs a check against a national database, in hopes of preventing identity theft.
A similar procedure is being phased in at traditional driver’s services centers.

From the state release:

The state first purchased three kiosks to use on a pilot basis using federal grant funds for a total of $165,000. The remaining 37 kiosks were purchased for $45,000 each, a total of $1,665,000, using state system development funds.

Driver Services’ self-service kiosks are in use in middle Tennessee at the following locations:

DAVIDSON COUNTY

· Centennial Boulevard Driver Service Center, 6604 Centennial Blvd., Nashville

· Hart Lane Driver Service Center, 624 Hart Lane, Nashville

WILLIAMSON COUNTY

· AAA Cool Springs, 1701 Mallory Lane, Brentwood

· Williamson County Driver Service Center, 3830 Carothers Parkway (2 kiosks)

WILSON COUNTY

· Mt. Juliet Police Department, 2425 N. Mt. Juliet Road, Mt. Juliet

RUTHERFORD COUNTY

· Rutherford County Driver Service Center, 1035 Samsonite Blvd., Murfreesboro

· Rutherford County Clerk’s Office, 205 I Street, Smyrna

MONTGOMERY COUNTY

· Montgomery County Election Commission, 350 Pageant Lane #404, Clarksville

SUMNER COUNTY

· Hendersonville City Hall, 104 Maple Drive North, Hendersonville

MACON COUNTY

· Macon County Clerk’s Office, 104 Macon County Courthouse, Lafayette

JACKSON COUNTY

· Jackson County Courthouse, 101 East Hull Avenue, Gainesboro

DEKALB COUNTY

· Administrative Services Building, 722 S. Congress Blvd., Smithville

BEDFORD COUNTY

· Bedford County Courthouse – East Wing, 1 Public Square, Shelbyville

HICKMAN COUNTY

· Hickman County Clerk’s Office, 114 N. Central Ave., Suite 204, Centerville