Contrary to popular belief, Austin’s Motor Vehicle Registration Office is still open during the government shutdown.

While state owned offices are closed, there are still plenty of options for vehicle registration.

Across the state, 106 privately or county owned offices are still open, according to Deputy Registrar Stephen Neiswanger.

“Mower County benefits from the fact that their office is a privately owned office and not a State operated office,” Neiswanger wrote in an e-mail. “If we had been a State operated office, we would have closed our doors during this shutdown.”

Customers will not be able to renew their tabs or receive any services through the state, but will at Austin’s registration office.

Neiswanger encourages people to utilize their locally-owned offices even after the shutdown ends to help keep them open.

“If everyone were to renew their registration by mail or through the Internet, privately owned offices would not be able to function and, in a situation like this, the customer would not be able to purchase their tabs locally,” he wrote.