After originally being scheduled to happen this week, the Outer Banks’ long wait for a new location to get vehicle license plates will last a little bit longer.
Originally planned for opening on August 26, and then September 3, Hurricane Erin presented additional challenges to meet those dates.
“The opening of the new office was delayed due to last week’s issues related to the storm,” said North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles spokesperson John Brockwell.
“Also, the vendor installing the wiring for the credit card readers needed more time to complete the installation,” Brockwell said. “And a delay was needed in supplying the ‘0BX’ license plates to the office.”
The opening is now set for 9 a.m. on Thursday, September 4, and pushed back one day later
NCDMV officials confirmed in April that a contract had been awarded to Josh Bass and Denise Hall, both of Currituck, who will operate the agency at the Sea Dunes Shoppes near milepost 4.5 on U.S. 158.
The Manteo license plate agency closed at the end of last year after the longtime operator retired.
In North Carolina, the DMV oversees 128 license plate agencies, but the agencies are managed by private businesses or local governments.
Following the closure of the Manteo office, the closest LPAs to the Outer Banks are in Columbia, Engelhard, Moyock and Elizabeth City.
There are also license plate agencies in Hertford, Edenton, Plymouth and Washington, while a number of vehicle services can be completed online, including property tax payments and registration renewals, at MyNCDMV.gov.
The standard issue “0BX” plates will be available once the Kitty Hawk agency opens, which actually have a first character in the plate as a zero, and not the letter O.
First made available in 1999 after a request to the NCDMV by state Sen. President Pro Tem and Dare County native Marc Basnight, the first three digits of “0BX” are followed by a five digit letter/number combo, and are available on all three styles of standard plates from NCDMV.
That includes the First In Flight plate, which was created in 1980 by another Dare County state Sen. Melvin Daniels, Jr., and the First In Freedom and In God We Trust/To Be Rather To Seem plates.
Many locals, and even North Carolina residents from around the state, prefer to get their new plates at the Dare license plate agency because of the “0BX” perk.
It should be noted, the most recent versions of the plate actually uses a zero rather than the letter O, although the characters look almost identical.
Otherwise, vehicle owners have to get it as a personalized option, for an extra fee, at any office or online.
The post New license plate agency in Kitty Hawk to delay opening until September 4 appeared first on Island Free Press.
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