DMV takes over privately run license plate office after finding ‘deficiencies’

The state Division of Motor Vehicles has closed a license plate office on New Bern Avenue for what it describes as “operational and performance deficiencies.”

The Raleigh License Plate Agency at 1100 New Bern Ave. was run by a private contractor. DMV announced Friday morning that it had been closed following audits by the state that found that the agency was not following standard operating procedures, resulting in accounting errors and other discrepancies.

The contract to run the agency has been canceled. The DMV says it will perform an “inventory audit” and that the agency will then reopen at 8 a.m. Monday morning staffed by DMV employees.

The Raleigh License Plate Agency opened on New Bern Avenue on May 3, 2016, offering license plate, title and registration services. It replaced one of the final two retail offices where state employees performed those functions, making it one of 120 privately run license plate offices in North Carolina under contract with DMV.

DMV audits each of the offices monthly, and problems turned up with the New Bern Avenue office in the spring, said DMV spokesman John Brockwell. DMV sent warning letters to the contractor, Southeast Raleigh Management Services LLC, in the spring and again on June 30, Brockwell said.

“They were determined not to be in compliance at the end of July,” he said.

DMV signed an eight-year contract with Southeast Raleigh Management Services and its principal, Sheryl Morton of Knightdale, in April 2016. Brockwell said the division will eventually seek another contractor to run the New Bern Avenue office, which is on the ground floor of DMV headquarters.

Nearby license plate agencies offering vehicle registration services Monday through Friday are in Raleigh at 2533 Atlantic Ave., Suite 102, 919-831-9996; in Cary at 1251 Buck Jones Road, 919-469-1444; and in Holly Springs at 408 Village Walk Drive, 919-552-5449.

In addition, services such as property tax payments and registration renewals can be done online at www.MyNCDMV.com.

This story was originally published August 11, 2017 at 9:49 AM with the headline "DMV takes over privately run license plate office after finding ‘deficiencies’."