Pasco County drivers will have a new, convenient way to renew their vehicle registration in their own county. A vehicle registration kiosk is now at a Publix on Collier Parkway in Land O' Lakes.
Hillsborough and Pinellas counties have multiple vehicle registration kiosks, but the first in Pasco County just opened this past weekend.
Pasco County Tax Collector Mike Fasano says the conversation to add a kiosk in the county has been going on for about a year.
"Anything that we can bring to Pasco County that's going to provide faster, efficient customer service to my constituents as an elected official, and our customers, we're ecstatic about that,” Fasano said.
The Pasco County Tax Collectors office is the only one in the state to open some of its office locations on Saturdays. Fasano says they send out renewal notices to between 30,000 and 35,000 residents every month.
Fasano says the process at the kiosks takes minutes, and will help make the tax collector offices more efficient.
"The longer of services that we provide is when somebody is transferring a title, or maybe getting a concealed weapon permit or an out-of-state vehicle. or an out-of-state person that's getting a Florida driver's license,” Fasano said. “That takes more time than renewing an auto registration."
Fasano says he hopes a successful first kiosk will help spur Florida MV Express — the company that runs the kiosks — to install more at locations across the state, including in areas where there’s quick growth and development of new residential areas.
Using one of the kiosks will reduce the amount of money the tax collectors office gets from the registration transaction. In the offices, the department gets $3, while using the kiosk means only $2.50 will go back to the tax collector's office.
The kiosks are cashless, and there is a convenience fee for every transaction.
The kiosks are proving to be successful in other areas. Pinellas County officials say just in December, they were used over 4,000 times.
“We have good feedback on it where the citizens like it, and it's a convenient option,” said Doug Katez, a deputy tax collector with the Pinellas County Tax Collector’s office. “So of course we would recommend any county that's interested to look into this.”
Katez says it also provides a strong option for Spanish speakers, since the machine has two language options.
To find out where the closest kiosk is to you, check out the Florida MV Express website.
