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CHOKEPOINTS

Everything you need is online, as Dept. of Licensing updates website

Jun 29, 2023, 9:13 AM | Updated: Jul 6, 2023, 11:30 am

Image: A Washington license plate can be seen in a recent photo....

A Washington license plate. (Photo courtesy of ³ÉÈËXÕ¾ 7)

(Photo courtesy of ³ÉÈËXÕ¾ 7)

The Department of Licensing (DOL) has taken a giant leap into the 21st century with a complete .

First, it was the Washington Department of Transportation and then Good To Go, and now it’s time for the DOL to have a functioning website.

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The old one had all the information you needed, but it just wasn’t user-friendly. It didn’t work well on mobile devices, and it took forever to find what you needed. That all changed in June with a relaunch. DOL Spokesperson Nathan Olson said the site has been rebuilt from the studs up, and it should be a lot easier to use.

“Our website was obsolete,” Olson said. “It had obsolete technology. It looked old and stale. It needed to be refreshed and updated and given 21st-century treatment.”

The pandemic really drove home the point that there are only a few things you need to go into a DOL office to handle.

“We learned a lot during the pandemic,” Olson said. “We learned a lot about people because people couldn’t come into offices. How they do business online and how they don’t do business online and how we weren’t meeting our customer’s needs.”

Almost everything you need can now be done on the new site.

“People come to us for specific needs at a specific time, and much of what they need can be done online,” Olson said.

The site has nice pull-down menus and clear tabs. The search function works well.

It’s well past due, but I think the public will find the site a great improvement.

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Everything you need is online, as Dept. of Licensing updates website