By S. M. Chavey

St. Paul Pioneer Press

If your vehicle tabs expire in July, you’d better renew soon.

Minnesota’s Driver and Vehicle Services operations will be limited later this month as the agency gets a computer upgrade.

Online vehicle tab renewal and other services won’t be available July 17 to July 24 in Minnesota during the upgrade, according to the Minnesota Department of Public Safety. Residents should renew online before July 17 if their registrations expires this month to ensure there is enough time.

At license offices, services will be limited from July 20 to July 24. Vehicle services such as tab renewals, plate replacements and title replacements will be unavailable July 20 through July 24. Driver’s license, permit or identification card renewal and application services will be unavailable July 22 and most offices will be closed.

The department notified Minnesota residents via mail if their vehicle registration expires this month.

The current computer system is 30 years old. The new system will reduce turnaround time for title transactions, and “customers will leave the office knowing their vehicle record has been updated in real time instead of experiencing a delay in the process,” according to the department.

The new system will still require the same documentation to complete transactions as before. The department also asked for patience from customers as employees adjust to the new system.

Because the system handles millions of transactions each year, implementation of the new system is being rolled out in phases. Next year, the driver’s license portion of the system will be updated.

According to the Department of Public Safety, it annually issues more than 1 million vehicle titles and registers more than 7 million vehicles.