Renew your tag in town

Bo Seagrist, Vestavia Hills business license and revenue officer, fully understands the experience of renewing a car tag at the Jefferson County Courthouse.

“Last year, I actually got up at 4:30 in the morning,” Seagrist said. “I waited in line for about three and a half hours. I understand people’s pain.”

The City is hoping to make this process a little smoother. Beginning April 1, Vestavia Hills residents will be able to renew their vehicle tags online or in person at City Hall. Mayor Butch Zaragoza announced that Vestavia Hills is the pilot city for this program.

“Our goal is to try and shorten lines downtown and save our citizens time and effort,” Zaragoza said.

Governor Bentley signed a law in February allowing any city in Jefferson County to take part in motor vehicle registration, including the issuance of license plates. Rep. Paul DeMarco sponsored the legislation.

“Right now, Jefferson County has 600,000 people renewing each year and only three locations,” DeMarco said. “Add seven or eight cities and all of a sudden that becomes 10 locations.”

Beginning March 11, Seagrist and other city employees underwent several days of software training in Montgomery for the tag renewal service. Ingenuity, based in Shelby County, is providing technical services for the program. 

Residents will be able to renew their tags online or in person during regular business hours. Seagrist said when residents walk into City Hall, they would be directed by informative signs. To speed up the process, residents should have their previous year’s renewal receipt or the current year Jefferson County renewal notice with them. 

Residents will be invited directly to the Finance Office, where Seagrist hopes to make the experience convenient and pleasant for all.

“Our goal is to try to create as upbeat and casual an atmosphere as possible,” Seagrist said.

Zaragoza encouraged residents to utilize Jefferson County’s online renewal process at JeffCoTags.com. There will also be a mobile-friendly version of the site for residents who want to renew their tags on their smartphones. 

Customers can go online and pre-register to receive a courtesy email reminder notice on their renewal month. Other than a $2 mail fee that helps cover the cost of postage, there is no convenience fee or other additional charge for renewing online.

Only Vestavia Hills residents will be able to renew their vehicle tags at City Hall. The vehicle must already be registered in Alabama in the name of the current owner. Newly acquired vehicles that are being transferred to or registered to the new owner for the first time will still require going in person to the Jefferson County Courthouse.

The City will be allowed to issue an annual additional fee for the service.

Zaragoza said there are at least six other cities looking to participate in this program, and DeMarco indicated that Trussville is one of them.

“This is a common-sense solution to a problem we all know about in Jefferson County,” DeMarco said.