Cochrane Registries, along with registries across the province will be closed for four days from June 19-22 due to a system update.

The province will be updating the Motor Vehicles System that tracks driver and vehicle information in Alberta.

Although the closure may be an inconvenience, the good news is the changes will enable the province to introduce online registry services for things like driver’s licence renewals.

Registries will be closed from June 18 at 9 p.m. through June 22. The following are the services that will be affected:

Knowledge tests, road tests and road test bookings

  • Vehicle registrations and renewals
  • Driver’s licence suspension reinstatement
  • Driver’s licence and ID card services (including new applications, renewals, temporary licences, exchanges, duplicates and reclassification)
  • Driver’s abstracts, searches, in-transit permits, etc.

Anyone whose driver’s licence or ID card is set to expire on or around these dates should plan to complete their renewals before June 19.

Some registry agents are offering services remotely, and Albertans requiring renewal should connect with their local registry agent to explore options for remote renewal ahead of the shutdown.

During the shutdown registry agents will be unable to process fine payments during the outage, and traffic courts remain closed to the public due to COVID-19, so fines must be paid online.