It’s been two and a half months since the license plate agency on Market Street in Washington closed its doors, and drivers will continue to have to travel out of county for in-person services for the foreseeable future. DMV officials say the new operator is still in the process of finding a space to open up shop in Beaufort County, with the aim of reopening by the end of the calendar year.

“DMV has still not finalized the contract with the new operator because the new operator has still yet to sign a lease agreement for an office location,” wrote DMV communications officer John Brockwell on Tuesday. “The operator is hoping for an opening at some point before the end of the calendar year. We can release the name of the new operator once the contract with DMV has been finalized.”

Once a location is secured, the operator will still have to hire staff and go through training before opening up the new facility, according to Brockwell.

The process of finding a new contractor to operate license plate services in Beaufort County dates back to December 2018. Early that month, the DMV put out a call for contractors to take over license plate and registration services following the retirement of long-time tag office operators Jesse and Peggy Rawls. The tag office on Market Street, where the two had provided services for 37 years, closed its doors on May 31.

While tag, title and registration services were impacted by the closing, drivers license services continued uninterrupted at the Drivers License Office at 1821 Carolina Ave., Washington.

Until the new license plate agency opens, the NCDMV is referring Beaufort County customers to online services at www.ncdot.gov/dmv. For in-person services, the NCDMV suggests visiting following locations in the vicinity of Beaufort County:

• Greenville, 2462 Stantonsburg Road, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., 252-756-5099
• Williamston, 305 E. Main St., from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., 252-789-4560
• Plymouth, 101 Forest Road, Suite C, from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and from 1:30 to 5 p.m., 252-793-2063
• Farmville, 3672 N. Main St., from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 2 to 5 p.m. Monday-Thursday, and from 8 a.m. to noon on Friday, 252-753-6726
• New Bern, 2505 Neuse Blvd., from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., 252-637-4524
• Tarboro, 201 Saint Andrew St., from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., 252-641-6684
• Alliance, 13580 N.C. Highway 55 E., from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., 252-745-0695

All locations are open Mondays through Fridays, with the exceptions noted above.