Local and state officials cut the ribbon Friday on the new Georgia Department of Driver Services facility.

The center, located at 3057 U.S. Highway 41 S., is more than double the size of the former center off Fulwood Boulevard, which had operated in disrepair for years and had no seating for customers.

Greg C. Dozier, DDS commissioner, said Friday that DDS employees are often the first faces that people moving into the area see and that customer service is the department’s first priority.

“This new center gives us the capability to serve a greater number of customers in a very efficient manner,” Dozier said. “We are very pleased with the help and support we are receiving from Tift County.”

The new facility is approximately 7,000 square feet. It includes multiple service counters, seating, computerized testing stations and a lobby management system.

Driver examiners will provide driver’s license testing, issuance and renewal, issuance of identification cards and driving history information. Vehicle road skills testing and insurance reinstatements will also be conducted at the new site.

Dozier said that the DDS serves 250,000 people each month around the state and customer service remains the top priority.

“Often we are the first faces people see when they come into a community,” Dozier said.

The local DDS serves approximately 2,000 customers each month.

Tift County leases the land where the building sits from the Tifton-Tift County Airport Authority. The county furnished the building to the state and the state provides its employees and other operating expenses.

County manager Jim Carter said that county employees provided the labor to convert an old storage building to the new DDS center. He said Friday that the county was enough under budget on the project that it was able to build the new morgue behind Pickett Park and to provide rehabilitation of restroom facilities at the E.B. Hamilton sports complex off King Road.

According to information furnished to the Tifton Gazette, the Tifton Police Department was the first local law enforcement agency to begin accessing driver’s license photo sharing from their patrol cars.

The DDS facility is open from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.

The DDS customer service telephone number is (678) 413-8400. Customers may also call toll free outside the metro Atlanta area by calling (866) 754-3687.

Many DDS transactions, such as replacing a lost license, changing an address or obtaining a copy of driving history, can now be conducted online by visiting www.dds.ga.gov.



To contact senior reporter Angie Thompson, call 382-4321.