Ohio adding more BMV Express kiosks

The Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles has expanded the number of self-serve kiosks from nine to 18 in the past month. The BMV Express kiosks, first installed in October 2021, aim to provide Ohioans with "options for service delivery that fit their unique needs," according to Bret Crow, director of communications with the Ohio Department of Public Safety. Current data shows the kiosks have been used by over 34,000 individual Ohioans — 34,505 as of June 15 — with an average weekly use of 1,500 transactions. The numbers are expected to rise as more machines are added. Crow said the state always planned to add more sites to the original nine. Site selection is conducted by Intellectual Technology Inc., of California, which also builds and maintains the kiosks. Crow said the company conducts market research to see if an area has enough demand before expanding to it. Findlay's local Meijer was one of the first batch of kiosks installed in the state and is available for use from 6 a.m. to midnight. Allen County is the only other surrounding county to have a kiosk, located at Meijer, 3298 Elida Road, Lima. The services offered by the kiosk are currently limited to vehicle registration renewal and the printing of registration stickers, but BMV is in talks with the kiosk vendor to add services. Currently, a driver can bring their state renewal notice to a kiosk and scan the barcode located on the outside of the notice or enter their license plate number manually. The machine, similar to an ATM, will accept payment before printing out the requested materials. Crow said the required materials for the process are the same as if a person went to a physical BMV location: either a plate number and the last four digits of a social security number; or a driver's license number, date of birth, first initial of a last name and the last four digits of a social security number. The kiosk also allows users to scan a driver's license in place of entering the information. The kiosk charges a $4.95 convenience fee. A 1.95% credit card processing fee is charged as well. A current list of available kiosks can be found online at https://ohiobmvexpress.com/map/#available