Month: June 2016

The Georgia Department of Motor Vehicle Safety’s (DMVS) Law Enforcement Division has several unique roles and missions. Prior to the creation of DMVS and its merger in 2001, two other agencies each had some of these responsibilities.

The Department is the State Lead Agency for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program (MCSAP). Under this program, the DMVS conducts safety inspections of commercial motor vehicles (primarily trucks and buses), inspects highway shipments of hazardous materials, and performs compliance reviews (safety performance audits) on motor carriers. The Department adopts and enforces driver and vehicle safety regulations and hazardous materials regulations as part of this program.

DMVS also enforces laws and regulations that govern vehicle size (height, width, and length) and vehicle weight. The Department operates 19 permanent weight and inspection stations throughout the State, primarily on Interstate highways. The stations are equipped with “weigh in motion” systems to screen vehicles. Selected vehicles are then weighed and measured to determine compliance. On bypass and side roads, DMVS Officers use portable scales to weigh selected vehicles.

Another role for the Law Enforcement Division is the enforcement of High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes in the metropolitan Atlanta area. DMVS Officers patrol the highways, identifying and apprehending those who use the HOV lanes improperly.

The Law Enforcement Division also performs a number of other tasks, including inspecting diesel powered over-the-road vehicles for dyed fuel (indicating the use of “off-road” diesel), rendering assistance at accident scenes, providing aid in disasters, and an aggressive public outreach program.

DMVS Law Enforcement Offices are trained and certified in accordance with standards of the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Council, and have full arrest powers in the performance of their duties. In addition, because of the detailed regulations governing commercial vehicle and driver safety, size, weight, and hazardous materials, DMVS Officers spend many hours each year in training in these specialized topics.

Although the Department of Motor Vehicle Safety is a very young law Enforcement Agency, the Law Enforcement Division is well poised to be one of the premiere Law Enforcement Units in the Southeast.

Address Change

You must report to a customer service center with in 60 days for a replacement license. The replacement license will be valid for the current renewal period and will be free of charge once in a four-year period.

You can now request your address change online by clicking here…

Name Change

If you change your name by marriage or otherwise you must also obtain a replacement license within 60 days. The replacement license will be valid for the current renewal period and will be free of charge once in a four-year period.

In order to change your name, you must present a certified copy of the marriage license or a certified copy of a court ordered name change. If you wish to hyphenate your name you must present a certified copy of the marriage license and a certified copy of the marriage license application stating the hyphenated name. Male applicants who wish to take the wife’s name after marriage must satisfy this requirement.

Rules and Regulations
Pursuant to House Bill 1441, which created the Department of Motor Vehicle Safety (the “Department”) on July 1, 2001, the responsibilities of enforcing and administering state laws and regulations relating to driver’s licenses, motor vehicle licensing and registration, and size and the weights of motor vehicles, trailers, and loads were transferred to the Department from the Department of Public Safety, the Department of Revenue, and the Department of Transportation, respectively. All rules and regulations previously adopted by those agencies also transferred to the Department and shall remain of full force and effect as rules and regulations of the Department until amended, repealed, or superseded by rules or regulations adopted by the Commissioner of Motor Vehicle Safety.