State officials are actively promoting kiosks located in eight Cub Foods outlets across the Minneapolis-St. Paul area and Rochester, offering residents a convenient vehicle registration service.
Governor Tim Walz experienced the ease of renewing vehicle tabs firsthand at a Rochester Cub Foods kiosk on a recent Tuesday afternoon.
For an additional $5, individuals can opt to renew their vehicle tabs at a kiosk rather than enduring the lines at a license bureau.
State leaders and deputy registrars are initiating a new vehicle registration method, starting at Cub Foods locations in the Twin Cities and Rochester, with plans to expand statewide.
“We’re aiming to bring government services closer to the people,” Governor Tim Walz stated during a demonstration of a DMV Now kiosk at a Rochester Cub.
Presently, eight kiosks are operational in Minnesota, with seven more slated to open in the coming months. Future installations will focus on high-traffic areas for added convenience, although not exclusively within Cub Foods.
Kiosk locations can be found at minnesotadvsnow.com.
While some kiosks have been operational since June, registrars had been piloting them for nearly a year before that. Currently, these kiosks have processed approximately 1,600 transactions, a significant increase from the 300 processed in July. State officials anticipate a higher uptake as marketing efforts intensify.
Operated by an independent contractor without state funding, these kiosks provide step-by-step instructions in English or Spanish, with plans to incorporate additional languages like Somali and Hmong.
Using the kiosk involves scanning the renewal notice or inputting personal information like home address, license plate number, or vehicle identification number, followed by on-screen prompts. Drivers are also required to input insurance details.
Upon calculation of the total fee, the kiosk adds a $4.95 convenience charge. Additionally, those paying with credit or debit cards will incur a 2.49% surcharge, akin to the fee imposed for in-person, online, or mail renewals at DVS or deputy registrar offices. The kiosks do not accept cash.
Upon completion of payment, the kiosk issues a receipt and prints new tabs.
A portion of the fee goes to nearby registrar offices to compensate for potential business loss to online services. Registrars conceived this idea following the economic repercussions of the troubled Minnesota Licensing and Registration System (MNLARS) launch in 2017. After facing technical delays and launch issues, the project was scrapped despite over $100 million in public funding.
Mike Hintz, a deputy registrar at Crossroads License Bureau in Rochester, notes that metro-area kiosks are performing significantly better compared to their Rochester counterpart, attracting one or two customers daily. However, he hopes the funding will serve as supplementary income for registrar offices once people realize they can efficiently handle both grocery shopping and tab renewals.
“It won’t revolutionize our operations, but it should provide support,”