New licensing system goes online Monday

If you're planning to renew your vehicle registration or complete a title transaction at the Flathead County Motor Vehicle Department on Monday, you'd be well advised to stay home.

That's the day the long-awaited Montana Enhanced Registration and Licensing Information Network - the MERLIN project - goes online, replacing a system that essentially has been unchanged since the early 1980s.

"Monday's not a good day to come in," Flathead County Treasurer Adele Krantz said. "We'll be open and you can drop off renewals, but we can't process them.

"We feel pretty comfortable with the new system, but there always will be some bumps and bruises," Krantz added.

Until the kinks are worked out of the start-up process, motor-vehicle customers may have to wait longer for service.

"Hopefully people will be patient," Krantz said.

Acting state Motor Vehicle Division Administrator Brenda Nordlund also noted there will be a transition period.

"As a result, services in county treasurers' offices may be disrupted and lines longer," Nordlund said.

The new computerized process for titling and registering vehicles is a major piece of a fully integrated system that eventually will tie all motor-vehicle and driver-licensing services to common customer accounts, Nordlund said.

Getting MERLIN up and running has been a long process. A start-up in 2007 was delayed because of technical difficulties, and since then there have been four other scheduled "go live" dates, Krantz said. County motor-vehicle employees have been training online extensively for the past eight months.

The project initially was approved by the 2003 Legislature. A secure Montana Board of Investments Intercap loan will pay for the $28.5 million project.

The state also is developing other new or expanded services, including allowing people to renew their vehicle registrations online and scheduled appointments at driver exam stations so customers don't have to wait.

The Motor Vehicle Division also plans to link motor-vehicle and driving-record information in a consolidated database so that whenever a person registers a vehicle, renews a driver's license or reviews a driving record, all of the information connected to that person's customer account is automatically updated.

Additional information on the project can be found on the Montana Department of Justice Web site, www.doj.mt.gov/driving/merlinproject.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by e-mail at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com