Department of Safety & Homeland Security to Open New Reinstatement-Only Driver Service Center in Shelby County

NASHVILLE --- The Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security will open a new driver service center in the Hickory Ridge Mall in Memphis on Tuesday, February 21. The Hickory Ridge Reinstatement Driver Service Center will offer reinstatement services only. Once open, it will be the only location in southwest Tennessee where citizens may reinstate driver licenses that have been suspended or revoked. 

 

The Hickory Ridge Reinstatement Driver Service Center will be stationed inside the mall, which is located at 6075 Winchester Road. The center will operate from 8:30 a.m. until 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. (All state offices, including driver service centers will be closed on Monday, February 20 in honor of the President’s Day holiday.)

 

The Department of Safety and Homeland Security has consolidated reinstatement services and created specific reinstatement-only centers across the state. This is one of a number of steps the department has undertaken to reduce the average wait time at driver service centers. Typically, reinstatement transactions take longer than other services.

 

“We've conducted a top to bottom review of the Division of Driver Services. We are committed to making sure we have a customer-oriented division which focuses on using the resources we have as efficiently as possible,” Commissioner Bill Gibbons said.

 

Effective February 21, the additional driver service centers in Shelby County, which includes the centers located on East Shelby Drive, Summer Avenue, and Walnut Grove in Memphis, and the center in Millington, as well as the centers in Fayette and Tipton Counties will no longer offer reinstatement services.

 

“This is a step that many of our employees across the state have urged us to take as a way of reducing the average wait time,” Gibbons said. “Reinstatement transactions usually take longer. By handling them in designated centers, it will free up other centers to handle standard transactions faster, such as license renewals and the issuance of licenses to new drivers, new residents, and those who need replacements due to licenses being lost or stolen."

 

The new Hickory Ridge Reinstatement Driver Service Center will also provide photo IDs to registered voters who need state-issued photo identification to vote. That includes issuance of simple photo IDs and conversion of non-photo driver licenses to photo driver licenses without charge. This special service is offered at every driver service center across the state.