Orange County DMV offices to close Feb. 12-18 for statewide system rollout

All Orange County Department of Motor Vehicle offices will be closed Feb. 12-18 as officials prepare for a statewide upgrade to the licensing system, a move that will temporarily halt in-person, online and telephone DMV services and affect routine driver and vehicle transactions across the county.

Orange County Clerk Kelly A. Eskew announced the temporary suspension of county DMV operations as New York rolls out the Licensing DRIVES application, part of the New York statewide DMV licensing modernization program. County notices list the closure as beginning Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026 (President’s Day), and tentatively scheduled to reopen Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026, at 9:00 a.m. The county added that the office will reopen to the public as soon as the State confirms system readiness and that officials will communicate any changes to the reopening schedule.

The county notice makes clear this outage will not affect other functions of the Orange County Clerk’s Office; non-DMV services will remain open. During the outage, the county advised residents to make arrangements ahead of time and to expect extra processing time in the weeks after systems come back online as staff and customers adapt to the new application. The announcement said, "Patience and understanding during this transition are greatly appreciated." It also included the line, "Eskew encouraged residents to make necessary arrangements in advance due to the upcoming New York Statewide DMV closure, beginning on Friday Feb. 13, 2026."

A discrepancy in reporting remains between county-level notices and one statewide reference: multiple Orange County communications specify a Feb. 12 start, while a separate reference cites a statewide technical blackout beginning Feb. 13. The county schedule as published identifies Feb. 12-18 as the local closure window; officials note the reopening remains tentative pending state confirmation of system readiness.

Practical impacts for Orange County residents include the unavailability of all DMV transactions during the outage period. Residents planning license renewals, registrations, REAL ID transactions, or other motor vehicle business should reschedule or complete transactions before the closure where possible, and anticipate longer waits after Feb. 18 as staff and customers transition to the new system.

For local assistance, Orange County government offices are located at the Orange County Government Center, 255 Main Street, Goshen, New York 10924. County phone lines list 845-291-4000 and regular business hours as Monday - Friday, 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. County officials said they will post updates and any changes to the reopening schedule on county channels.

Readers should prepare now for the interruption, allow extra time for any required DMV business after reopening, and monitor county communications for confirmations about system readiness and the final reopening timeline.