FEBRUARY 17, 2009

Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land is rolling out the next wave of customer conveniences by creating more PLUS offices and expanding access to popular service options. Under Land's aggressive time frame, some enhancements start today while the rest will be in place no later than June.

Land's latest effort builds on the success of her ongoing drive to modernize services and provide them at the community level for greater ease. More customers now will enjoy access to timesaving options such as payment by credit card, Self-Service Stations for speedy license plate tab renewal and the ability to purchase driving records at all branch offices.

"When customers speak, we listen," Land said. "They're telling us that these conveniences are just the ticket in today's busy world. We appreciate their enthusiasm and are excited to take customer service to a higher level. We're proud to deliver quality service at a time when government is facing severe budget constraints. The Department of State is proving that government doesn't need more dollars to provide better service."

Under Land's leadership, customers can look forward to:

• Six new PLUS offices in 60 days. Land revolutionized the branch office system in 2004, creating a new breed of office that delivers enhanced services. Customers embraced the conveniences offered by PLUS offices, such as expanded Wednesday hours from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., payment at the counter with Discover and MasterCard, and Self-Service Stations.

Six traditional branch offices will be converted to PLUS offices. No office consolidations are planned. New offices will be the:

• Bay County PLUS Office
• Northeast Kent County PLUS Office (current Grand Rapids Northeast office)
• Southwest Kent County PLUS Office (current Wyoming office)
• Southwest Macomb County PLUS Office (current Warren Dequindre office)
• Ottawa County PLUS Office (current Holland office)
• St. Clair County PLUS Office (current Port Huron office)

• Greater access to Self-Service Stations within 120 days. The ATM-style machines will be added to the six new PLUS offices and eight existing traditional offices. The existing offices are Hudsonville, Muskegon, Royal Oak, Saginaw Northwest, Shelby Township, Sterling Heights, Troy and Warren 12 Mile. Self-Service Stations let drivers renew their license plate tabs by credit card without waiting for service at the branch counter. They currently are in PLUS offices, SUPER!Centers and in select local government facilities. Many are available 24/7.
• Additional testing kiosks for commercial driver license applicants by June. The automated systems let applicants take their tests using touch-screen kiosks rather than paper. In addition to providing the user with immediate results, the kiosks free up office staff to assist other customers. The systems now are in 40 offices and Land is adding them to 40 more.
• Buying a copy of their driving record at any Secretary of State office, starting today. This is handy for people who need their record for job interviews. It first was available only by mail or by traveling to Lansing. Land later put the service in PLUS offices and SUPER!Centers. Land expedited the service's expansion to all branch offices to help job-seekers in this difficult economy.

The Branch Office Locator at www.Michigan.gov/sos will include the new offices and services as they become available.