Woodcrest also sells Pikepass and has opened her office as a location for another business’ ATM to help keep the doors open. “Not one renewal, and yesterday we had none.” “We used to get anywhere from five to 15 a day and today we haven’t had one,” said Micki Selanders, who owns Woodcrest Tag Agency in southern Logan County. This represented a nearly 3 percent drop from 2017, or almost $1.5 million. In 2018, tag agents overall reported revenues from fees totaling $52,415,727.20.
By law, tag agents are allowed by law to keep $3.56 of each renewal, which for the 2018 vehicle registrations adds up to $11.1 million. Yet the tag renewal system allows users to have their application processed through their local tag agent so they keep the processing fee and thus keep one of their largest revenue streams flowing.Īccording to Tax Commission records, in 2018 there were 3,127,423 automobiles registered with the state. In 2010 the Tax Commission began allowing Oklahomans to renew motor vehicle tags online. The threat from online technology is something tag agents have faced before. “In an era of digital transformation, we see a future where tag agencies are doing more than just assisting people with motor vehicles.” It is important for Oklahoma to catch up with the innovation and modernization taking place in states around us that are allowing individuals to receive state services with a click of a button on their phones,” said Donelle Harder, a spokeswoman for Stitt. “Digital transformation is about making state government cost efficient, but more importantly customer-centered and transparent. And Stitt plans to give them additional services, such as issuing hunting and fishing licenses, and selling state merchandise. Yet, even under Stitt’s proposal, a tag agency or a local Department of Public Safety office would be a required stop for anyone who needs a license or renewal. Real ID-compliant digital driver’s licenses have substantial security needs – something tag agencies aren’t equipped to handle. However, this monopoly looks to be loosening – although not going away – under the state’s upcoming Real ID conversion. Oklahoma is the only state that handles driver’s licenses exclusively through privately owned, state-subsidized businesses. If a person wants to drive, they have to obtain a license at a tag agency. State agencies duplicate many of those services, online or at state offices.įor decades, tag agencies have had a monopoly on driver’s licenses. They provide help with driver’s licenses, vehicle registrations, turnpike passes, title transfers, notary services and boat tags. Tag agents offer a varying range of services to customers, depending on their location.
Tag agents provide local jobs in many legislators’ districts and offer an in-person service in rural areas where high-speed internet is scarcer. Instead, the administration suggests that tag agencies, which are privately owned and receive government subsidies, could be allowed to expand into new services, even while playing a lesser role in others.Īny major change, however, could hit resistance. A digital transformation would seem primed to leave tag agents behind.īut Stitt’s office is not suggesting that will happen.
Oklahoma’s 283 tag agencies, comprising a system that has been around for decades, are a critical cog in any modernization of licensing and registering of vehicles, boats or drivers. Up ahead, he said, were digital orders for driver’s licenses, a single portal for most state services and a click-of-the-mouse look at all state spending.īut that vision could falter when applied to one of the state’s long-time service providers: local tag agencies. In his State of the State address, he gave state government a “D+” in digital transparency and pledged to centralize government services online. Kevin Stitt has made government modernization a centerpiece of his first year in office.