Modernized DMVs Offer Improved Experience for Staff, Residents

A driver’s license or state ID card is more than a credential. It’s a ticket to services such as banking, employment, travel and public services. It verifies identity and allows access to government programs for all ages. Yet the technology behind these essential credentials has often fallen behind. Today, states including Colorado, Nevada and Vermont are advancing DMV modernization with cloud-native systems, shared platforms and service models including kiosks, back-end improvements and redesigned portals.

VERMONT

Vermont’s Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) serves nearly 700,000 residents, and a digital transformation is well underway. The state’s Agency of Digital Services (ADS) worked with the DMV to start moving off a mainframe system in about 2020, and they later implemented online vehicle registration as part of the vehicle services phase. This November, residents will be able to complete most driver’s license and ID services online, a significant shift for a department that traditionally required in-person visits.

Progress on projects like these means “getting outside of your own doors,” collaborating across agencies and centering on resident experiences, state CIO Denise Reilly-Hughes said. And for end users, Vermont isn’t just enhancing services but creating a unified digital identity and experience via the myVermont portal, which houses high-demand state services. On a deeper level, the DMV’s role in establishing identity makes it central to the state’s broader push for improved digital services and customer experience.

“There will be a lot more online services available, not to mention it now all becomes the same system and experience for users — the same look and feel,” Reilly-Hughes told Government Technology. “We looked at the work that had been done during the pandemic around secure ID for residents, and we took the same approach here. This is one of the bigger systems and serves more than 50 percent of Vermonters.”

FAST Enterprises is the vendor at the heart of the 10-year, $104 million project, which includes a system replacement with point-of-sale services, appointment scheduling and customer queuing, according to a February presentation to Vermont’s House Committee on Energy and Digital Infrastructure. The vehicle services phase launched Nov. 13, 2023, and extra time was taken for staff training.

Next up are the final steps of core modernization, after which staff will be working with one system, and customers will be able to “leave with everything needed in a single visit,” according to the presentation. Online services will include streamlined appointment scheduling, account management, self-service possibilities and payment processing. It all points to faster service and fewer crowds at Vermont’s 10 DMV offices.

COLORADO

Colorado’s DMV required a different approach to modernization, although on a larger scale. Senior Director Electra Bustle reports that the state has 4.9 million driver’s licenses and ID cards and 6.4 million registered vehicles. Her division is updating its FAST Technologies platform with a major upgrade that includes the latest software, better accessibility and a sleeker front end. She envisions a modern DMV virtually helping people ahead of an office visit and meeting the customer wherever they are, as the state’s DMV2GO does in person. The state already has self-service kiosks in place and rolled out an American Sign Language app in February.

“The whole front end of our e-services will be redone, so it will be a better customer experience,” she said. “Our employees are going to get new ways of doing things, which provides a better experience for them to be able to help customers.”

“Start with the customer in mind. That is one of the things that we’ve derived from our strategic plan. ... Not so much of what’s the easiest for us to administer, but what are the needs of the customers?” Bustle said. “And back it in from there. As you’re building your solution, you’re going to end up with a better product. Clearly, there are administrative things you must worry about, and you don’t want to forget those.”

Development began in fall 2023, with work underway on the back end focusing on administrative functions. This upgrade is especially important, following a deferral in 2022, Bustle said. A full rollout, in partnership with the Governor’s Office of Information Technology, is planned for February or March of 2026, when the MyDMV portal will be fully redesigned.

NEVADA

While Colorado upgrades an existing system, Nevada’s DMV has been actively adding features and replaced its 20-year-old COBOL platform with a cloud-based Salesforce system, partnering with Slalom and Mission Critical Partners.

Nevada’s DMV Transformation Effort began in late 2021 with an initial budget of $125 million. Last year, news reports said it could cost more than $400 million, and the road map now points to completion in 2029. But the department has moved more than two dozen services online, including Rapid Registration in August 2024. That was the largest service launch, according to a spokesperson, and is the first time that private-party, out-of-state or new registrations can be handled entirely online. Nevada’s direction mirrors Vermont and Colorado: consolidating services through a single portal, replacing outdated systems with modern infrastructure, and prioritizing user experience with tools designed to reduce wait times, increase access and align services around the resident rather than the department.

Each of these states is building momentum, not flipping a switch. Vermont is tying digital identity to state services through its portal. Colorado is overhauling accessibility and staff tools with its next system upgrade. Nevada is expanding online access while continuing to roll out features like chatbots, kiosks and expedited registration. Together, their work shows that DMV modernization isn’t a finish line but a framework for smarter, more equitable public service.

This story originally appeared in the Summer 2025 issue of Government Technology. Click here to view the full digital edition online.