The County of Hawaiʻi Vehicle Registration & Licensing Office in Kona will be temporarily extending its regular hours in an effort to cut into the county’s backlog of license renewals. Beginning tomorrow, July 21, office hours will be from 6:45 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., allowing the office to open an hour early and close an hour later. In addition to extended hours, the office will also open on Saturday, July 31, to service expired licenses and state IDs. The specific dates and hours of operation are as follows:

• Wednesday, 7/21/21 6:45 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
• Thursday, 7/22/21 6:45 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
• Tuesday, 7/27/21 6:45 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
• Wednesday, 7/28/21 6:45 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
• Thursday, 7/29/21 6:45 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
• Saturday, 7/31/21 7:45 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

The County of Hawaiʻi would like to thank the community for their patience as we work to address the backlog. Walk-ins will still be available on a first-come, first-serve basis. Patrons with appointments will be given preference.

“We have been working tirelessly to address the licensing and registration backlog caused by the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Mayor Mitch Roth. “All of our offices have been in overdrive trying to accommodate as many people as possible every day, and we could not be more appreciative of their hard work and commitment to our community.”

“We understand that folks are frustrated, and we mahalo them for their patience as we continue to work through the thousands of expired driver’s licenses and registrations in our county,” said Steven Hunt, Deputy Director of Finance. “The pandemic created a bit of a setback, but because of the hardworking staff at the Vehicle Licensing and Registration Division, we continue to make significant strides to catching everyone eventually and look forward to servicing you with aloha when it is your turn.”