The method of renewing licenses for Belize City drivers has been somewhat expedited since motorists now have the option to renew their driver’s licenses via a newly implemented online process which is available by conveniently logging on to the Belize City Traffic Department’s website.
Starting today, the Belize City Council is offering an online renewal of the driver’s license program to city residents who are credit card holders.
This morning, CITCO held a press conference in which personnel from the Council’s information technology department performed a demonstration of the procedure for those who were in attendance.
The entire process took roughly fifteen minutes to complete. To use the feature, a user must possess his or her previous driver’s license, an Atlantic Bank credit card, and an active e-mail address.
Although the process is presently limited to individuals with Atlantic Bank accounts, Deputy Mayor Bernard Pitts Jr. promised that it will be modified in the near future to incorporate account holders from the other banks as well. Pitts said that the initiative has been in the pipeline for some time, so he hopes that city residents find it useful. He noted that the purpose is to assist drivers with ease of process and a decrease in time consumption. He stated, “The process is quite simple, but it will serve to bring about the necessary changes in the e-commerce market for the Belize City Council. It will form the base for us to do other services, such as paying trade services and paying property taxes online. But for now, this is our start with the renewal of driver’s licenses. I must say it is renewal and not applying. We communicated with the [Atlantic] bank; we did our testing and now we are ready to roll out. You will be able to pay via your credit card. Shortly, within perhaps a few months or so, we will introduce paying via your bank account and your debit card.”
Once the procedure is completed, the applicant also has the option to have their driver’s license delivered directly to their address.
What is notable about the website is that the system will do a background check to find out whether the person owes the City Council. Any such person in arrears will be ordered to discontinue the process and then redirected to visit the City Hall to make the respective payment/s.
Deputy Mayor Pitts said that although users will get a printout of their receipt, there will be a waiting period of about 24 hours before they can get the actual license.
According to Pitts, about 15,000 people renew their licenses on an annual basis, and it is expected that about 6,000 to 7,000 people will use the online renewal system.