AMES, Iowa - The state Department of Transportation is relaxing some penalties and rules with the COVID-19/coronavirus outbreak.
Expired driver's licenses and vehicle registrations from January 16th or later will remain valid until the governor's disaster declaration ends. They don't have to be renewed until after that time.
Title and registration for vehicle purchases or transfers are also not required until after the declaration ends.
In addition, rules for the weight of trucks is being relaxed. Trucks hauling food, medical supplies, cleaning products, or other household goods may exceed the weight limit as long as it's 90,000 pounds or less.Trucks are still required to obey weight restrictions on bridges.
Customer business concerning Driver's licenses and IDs is being conducted by appointment, and driver's tests have been discontinued until a future date.
All customers entering a DOT service center will be asked a series of questions to evaluate their risk of exposure to COVID-19 and exposure to others being served. If it is determined that there may be a heightened risk for the customer to be served, they will be asked to delay services to a later date.
Staff will be monitoring the number of customers waiting for services inside the facility to encourage social distancing guidance provided by the CDC. Customers may be asked to wait in their vehicles or come back at another time if service areas become crowded.